Catch 21
by HigherSilver
Summary: Isabella Garcia-Shapiro would never give up on Phineas Flynn. Which is why she asks him to keep in touch with her through email after she moves. Now age 21, Isabella returns to Danville, madly in love with her longtime pen pal. But, is Phineas really the guy for her?
1. Isabella Moves Away

It was a bright sunny day in Danville. The sky was as blue as could be, the birds were singing, and Perry was yet to disappear. However, the usually bustling residents of the Flynn-Fletcher household were not in their house today. They were not at the mall ogling a blond, blue-eyed weenie seller. They were not at work selling peculiar antiques to peculiar people. They weren't even in the backyard constructing a suburban abnormality. In fact, much of the street was currently on the driveway of a different household, the Garcia-Shapiros.

"Thanks for the going away party guys." Said Isabella.

"No problem Isabella. Hey, you kids, you stay away from the color-changing streamers! They're delicate!" said Phineas, as he chased after the giggling three-year olds poking at the decorations he and Ferb had created for the party.

Isabella sighed. Today's activity had been her party, and she had felt so happy about it. Phineas had actually remembered her, and thought to throw her a party. But, once again he was indifferent to her advances. She had never felt so sad. When her parents had told her that her dad had gotten an amazing new job, but that they had to move to Alaska, she didn't know what to feel. Well, she had felt sad. Excited, but very sad. She wasn't ready to leave her fireside girls, or her boys Buford, Baljeet, and Ferb, and she was especially not ready to leave Phineas. Oh Phineas. How could she leave her true love here, before she told him how she felt? Isabella was sure that Phineas could feel the same about her eventually. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, and her heart filled with hope. Instead she saw a green haired boy handing her a piece of cake and a fork.

"Thanks Ferb." She sighed. He gave her a little nod in response. They both suddenly heard the honk of a taxi.

"Isa!" Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro called. "Time for final goodbyes, mi hija!"

Isabella gasped and grabbed Ferb's hand, dragging him towards the curb, as she ran towards the cab. She looked at the line of people saying goodbye and felt overwhelmed.

"Bye girlie." Said Candace, as she playfully patted Isabella's head. Jeremy shot her a peace sign from Candace's right, and Stacy blew her a kiss from the left.

The fireside girls stood in front of Isabella, and at that moment, all the girls burst into tears, and ran into a group hug. They quietly hummed the Fireside Girls' song and tightened the hug.

"We'll miss you chief." Gretchen said. "Yeah." The girls responded in unison.

Isabella released her grip on the girls as they began to leave. Wow, that was hard. Now came the really hard part.

Buford gently fist bumped her and said "You were never too bad, for a girl."

"Thanks Buford." She said wryly, and then gave him a quick hug, against his will.

Baljeet sadly walked up to her. "Things won't be the same without you here."

"I know." She said. She wrapped her arms around him, wishing the tears that had been falling since she heard the honk would stop. "Can we use your catchphrase now?" he whispered in her ear. She giggled a little, and let him go without an answer.

Then it was Ferb's turn. "Bye Ferb." Isabella said. He gave a little wave goodbye to her. "Call me sometime, ok?" she said. She meant it as a joke, but he quickly answered, "I will.", in his deep British voice. Then he hugged her. Since it was the shortest conversation, it worked out to be the longest hug. Isabella let herself sink into his shoulder, and wipe off some of her tears. She felt serene in his warm embrace. When the hug ended, Isabella felt a like there was a knot in her stomach.

And finally Phineas. At this point, Vivian had finished saying goodbye to Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher, Mrs. Johnson, and her other friends, and Isabella's time was almost up.

"Oh wow, Isabella, I can't believe you're leaving already! Did you like the party?"

"Yeah, I really did. Phineas, I, I, gotta tell you something."

"Really? Well, you better hurry, your mom looks like she wants you guys to leave soon."

Isabella wrung her hands. How could she put the way she felt about him into words without rejection?

"I, I, really like you Phineas. You're really important to me. I guess I want to say I lov… I'm in lov… I… promise me you'll email me everyday?"

"Ok."

"And then we can stay… friends… forever." She said very softly.

"Isa!" Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro called. " We cannot miss our flight!"

Phineas quickly hugged Isabella and pushed her towards the cab. She gave a quick wave to whoever was left and got in the cab. She let her cheek slide against the glass, as her parents got in and the driver started up the car again. She turned to look out the window, as the car started moving. There was just one lone person still standing on her ex-driveway. He was waving to her. Isabella smiled and opened the window.

"BYE FERB!" she screamed as the taxi began to speed away from him. "And goodbye Danville." She softly said to herself.


	2. From Phineas

Ferb slowly walked through the hallway, bouncing a basketball, lazily. National Hockey League star Luc Robitaille had introduced him and the gang to world famous basketball player Kobe Bryant, and they had all played one on one against him inside the gymnasium he and Phineas had built in the backyard. He sighed. Phineas and Ferb had managed to do everything on their list in addition to many other things. It sure had been a fun day, but school started tomorrow.

Sometimes it had felt as though this summer had been going on for years, but now it was all over. He and Phineas had to severely cut down on building time during the school year. The only real time they had was the weekends. As soon as they got home, Mom would make them a snack and they would hang out and talk to her a little, then they would have to do a large amount of homework. After that was complete, they had to shower, do their chores, find and clean Perry, eat dinner, maybe watch TV, and then go to bed right on time. Not to mention some days they had afterschool activities and clubs to go to. Summer was more precious than gold.

Ferb felt a little winded after today. After all, since he was the tallest, the guys had expected him to play the best. Of course, he had to live up to expectations. They had been doing a lot of sports, explosions, and burping in the last few weeks. Ferb kind of missed the days when they would do something fun, and a little girly, like floating in bubbles or selling lemonade. Ferb chalked that up to… oh, that reminded him of something!

Ferb stopped dribbling as he walked upstairs, and opened the door to his room. He threw the basketball (gently) somewhere on his general side of the room. He then looked over to his dozing roommate. Phineas' backpack was open and his new school stuff was all over his bed, so Ferb assumed he had been getting ready for school tomorrow before he nodded off. Showing no mercy, Ferb went up to Phineas and began poking him awake.

"Who!? What!? Where's Perry!?" said Phineas, as he woke up. "Oh Ferb, it's you. What time is it?"

Ferb pointed at the clock on the night table.

"Oh, right… it's ten already? Oh man, I wanted everything ready before then. I don't want to be late tomorrow! I'm going to bed." He said as he shoved everything in the backpack, and hurriedly changed into his pajamas.

Ferb changed as well, but he didn't rush into bed the way Phineas was. In fact, his arms were crossed as he watched his brother get under the covers.

"Phineas," he slowly started, "weren't you supposed to email Isabella?"

Phineas opened one eye from under his comforter. "I was?"

"Yes! Don't you remember what she said when she left… TWO WEEKS ago?"

"I'm sure she just meant not to be a stranger. I mean, constantly emailing her isn't going to help either of us get the most out of our days. Have you called her yet?" he asked, attempting to play the guilt card.

"Yes." Ferb said dryly.

It had been a little bit of an awkward phone call, honestly. Ferb had waited one day until Isabella was settled, then phoned her new number. She had eagerly answered, recognizing their number, but he could tell she hadn't been very excited it was him. He had listened to her chatter about how big her new house is, how Pinky loved the new birds to chase, and how she had contacted the local Fireside Girl troop. Of course, the conversation had been punctured with versions of "Is Phineas home?" and "Would Phineas like to talk?", but the answer was no. Phineas had been planning a funeral for a recently deceased goldfish (Buford was a mess!). Besides explaining where Phin was, all he had said was "Hi, it's Ferb" in the beginning, and "Bye" at the end. It's not like Isabella had been expecting much more then that.

Phineas just rolled to the other side and said, "I'll do it some other time. Gotta sleep now Ferb."

Ferb nodded slowly and said, "Ok. I'm not sleeping just yet. I promise not to be loud."

He didn't receive a response from the sleeping form that was Phineas, so he just dimmed the lights, grabbed his laptop, and hopped on his bed. He opened up his email. Neither of the brothers had ever needed to email Isabella before; she had always been right on the street. She had written down her email address and given it to them, and asked Phineas to just sign his name on his message so she could add him as a contact. Ferb began typing.

Dear Isabella, how are you? I'm so sorry I didn't email you earlier, but we had a lot going on. Today we shot hoops with Kobe Bryant. Maybe I can send you some pictures. How is Alaska? Is it any colder there? Has school started for you guys? Have you made any friends? I wish I could write more, but it's late. I know it's only six for you, but it's ten here. I'll respond to you as soon as possible.

From Ferb

Ferb scratched his head. Would this only make her feel like Phineas was ignoring her? Ferb knew how much she liked Phineas. He probably knew it better than anyone. Nothing would make Isabella happier than receiving an email from Phineas. Ferb looked at the clock, and then at his sleeping brother. His hand moved towards the "delete" button, and he began tapping it, then typing something new.

From Phineas


	3. Email

**_(I forgot this before) _****Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb. I do not own it in my oneshot Unsleeping either. Also, this story is slightly based on a movie, but I'm not tellin' which. This chapter is a little longer than the previous ones. Good or bad? This shows the emails going back and forth between Isabella, and "Phineas" (I hope you know who that is). The page breaks basically symbolize a year passed, and the dark "x" separates two emails.**

* * *

Dear Phineas, you have absolutely no idea how thrilled I was when I saw your email in my inbox! I'm so happy we can actually stay friends forever. I don't mind that you took so long, because you responded, and that's what matters. I just started school as well. Can you believe we're in the sixth grade already? No more goofing off for me now. I really don't think I can keep that resolution. By the way, is flynn-fletcher2 your official email? It's the one I'm going to respond to. I'm so worried about making friends here. It's never been a problem for me before, but middle school is a whole new ballgame. I've met one girl so far, Brownie, the leader of the fireside group in our area. Well, her name's not really Brownie, it's Bernadette Congo, but she hates that name. I guess she likes brownies. She seems really nice, but I don't know how I'm going to stand being less than troop leader. As for Alaska it's really nice! In the summer months, including September, temperatures can get up in the 70's regularly. So it's not freezing but not sweltering. It helps to dress in layers. Our street is a little like back home, but the yards are much bigger. You and Ferb could probably do a lot here. Well, that's it, email me soon.

Thinking of you, Isabella

* * *

Dear Isabella, we had a field trip today… to the Danville Meat Packing Industry warehouse. What kind of teacher takes innocent-minded seventh grade students to a glorified butcher shop? As soon as we stepped in there, I almost gagged at the smell. Then the hairy-lipped women guiding us began talking about everything that happens in the meat-packing process. I couldn't believe it. Those poor cows, and pigs, and sheep. That's it; from now on I'm a vegetarian. I'm swearing by it.

From Phineas

**x**

Dear Phineas, I'm so sorry, but that email actually made me laugh. I have no idea why she would take you there. I can picture the class freaked out by the sights and smells. I would keep laughing, but I realized that you're totally right. Those adorable farm animals are forced to become food. They have rights too! I'm going vegetarian with you!

From Isabella

* * *

Dear Isabella, the attachment is a birthday card I designed for you. It may not be physical paper, but I think it came out well. I had a lot of fun designing it. By the way, happy 14th birthday!

From Phineas

**x**

Dear Phineas, forget inventing, you should be an artist! I loved loved LOVED the card! Probably the best thing I got, and I'm not just saying that. It was just so… me. I didn't know you knew me so well.

Luv Isabella

* * *

Dear Phineas, it was my parents' anniversary last night. My dad strung twinkly lights all around the porch and leading into the dining room, so my mom could see it when she drove home. Then he made dinner for her, with champagne. To top it off, he bought her a jumbo box of the best fudge I had ever tasted. My mom has a weakness for fudge. They managed to stay so in love, after so many years, and they know so much about each other. I hope someday I have a relationship like theirs.

Sincerely, Isabella

**x**

Dear Isabella, you seemed kind of sad in your last email, despite your parents' festivities. Don't worry about relationships yet; we're only fifteen. I don't want to have to fly to Alaska to beat the pulp out of the first guy who breaks your heart. And if you ever want some fudge, I can always send you some.

From Phineas

* * *

Dear Isabella, during my ecology class, I found an abandoned bird's nest when we were looking around the forest. At least I thought it was abandoned until I saw a baby robin sleeping in it. I had never seen or even pictured a quiet baby bird; for some reason I only picture them noisy with mouths wide open for food. I'm going to come back and check tomorrow if a mother bird is there. If not, I'm hoping I'll be able to help it. I know you love animals, so I thought you would want to know.

From Phineas

**x**

Dear Phineas, oh my gosh that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard. You can be so sensitive sometimes, unlike the sixteen-year-old boys around here. It's nice to know that some boys actually mature with age, instead of heading backwards. For the record, I think you would be a great dad.

Love Isabella

* * *

Dear Phineas, I just can't believe it. We're HIGH SCHOOL GRADS! I feel empowered. I made it through school and now onwards to my future. I sent you some pics of our ceremony in Alaska.

Love Isabella

**x**

Dear Isabella, I can't believe it either. I'm a little scared of being separated from everyone here when we go to college, but most of me is really excited for the future. I'm attaching some pics of OUR ceremony, and the graduation party we had at our house. Candace got busted for giving us alcohol though. At least she wasn't drinking while pregnant. By the way, I already looked at your pictures… you looked really nice Isabella.

Love Phineas

* * *

Dear Phineas, I am so upset. By upset, I mean angry. I really wanted to join that sorority I was telling you about. I thought, not only would it be a good Fireside troop replacement, but also it would be a way to make friends and truly enjoy the college experience. And I got past all the stupid tests too! Except for the very last one. They wanted the freshmen rushers to sleep with a frat brother. No way in hell they were making me do that! So I walked out. Please tell me I didn't make a huge mistake.

Love Isabella

**x**

Dear Isabella, I think you did the right thing. Nobody can tell you what or what not to do, and certainly no one can control your intimate relationships. Even if you lost out on being a sister, you hung on to something way more important; your pride. My admiration for you has grown again.

Love Phineas

* * *

Dear Isabella, do you ever worry about where you're going? In just a couple of years, I'm going to graduate, and be thrown out in the real world, and that isn't the problem. The problem is that I'm going to be stuck in one job, and one role my entire life. I like doing something new everyday. I wouldn't even mind being someone else, like my brother, who has a billion opportunities ahead of him. I'm probably getting grey hairs right now. Write back soon.

Love Phineas

**x**

Dear Phineas, I care so much about you, you know. For as long as I can remember. So don't talk like that. You're scaring me. Just take a tiny pinch of caution and a bigger pinch of risk and see what happens. We're only sophomores. And don't ever pretend to be anybody, including your brother, because the guy I'm sending this to is the greatest in the world.

Love Isabella

* * *

Dear Phineas, did you and Ferb ever build a casino, or ever play blackjack at least? My roomie has a crush on a guy who loves the game, so she wants me to practice with her. I can't do this right now, I have to study!

Desperately yours, Isabella

**x**

Dear Isabella, I'm shocked that you think we would be able to get away with building a casino. We live in a family community. As for the game, I have come across it. The object of the game is to get to twenty-one points, or have the highest score under twenty-one. Face cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks) are counted as ten points. The player and dealer can count his own ace as 1-point or 11 points. It's not a game where you play against others; you're up against the dealer, and if you lose, you're to blame. It's a little like a metaphor for life actually. There might be more rules, but remember, all you need to do is catch 21.

Love Phineas

* * *

Dear Isabella, I must have asked a billion people this, but your answer is probably the most important. What is love? I chose this as a subject of a senior paper I'm working on, and I'd like to know your response.

Love Phineas

**x**

Dear Phineas, love is… when two people know each other inside and out. When the first thing they think of in the morning is whom they love, and the last thing they think of at night is the face of that same person. You're in love when you need to hear from the one you love everyday. Love is building upon something stronger… friendship.

-Isabella

* * *

Dear Phineas, CONGRATS TO ALL THE COLLEGE GRADS OUT THERE! CONGRATS TO BALJEET, AND BUFORD, AND IRVING, AND MY OLD TROOP, AND PHINEAS AND FERB! I CAN'T STOP SCREAMING! Today life is really starting. We're adults, 21 & over. And, get ready for more screaming, (I'm literally screaming as I write this!), I'M MOVING BACK TO DANVILLE! My parents and I are all set, and we're coming back permanently. Get ready for the official greatest summer ever Phineas! I can't wait to see you again. I really really cannot wait. I'M COMING HOME!

LOVE Isabella!

* * *

**And there it is... if you're reading this story, good. If you're reading and loving it, great! If you're reading and not reviewing bad... for me. I would like some input, and if you hate it, then tell me ( but it has to be constructive criticism, not couple bashing). And if you like it, well, inflate a girl's ego a little won't you?**

**Love Silver**


	4. Ferb Now

**Happy Platypus Day everybody! Did you all see Sidetracked and Primal Perry? Perry was pretty boss in both of them. I miss Phineas and Ferb starring in THEIR show though. Anywho, here's chapter four of Catch 21!**

* * *

BUZZ! BUZZ!

The sun shone through a tiny crack in the long curtains framing the window. An extremely loud and extremely irritating alarm clock was going off inside the dark room. The sound blared for less than a few seconds before a hand came slamming down upon its source. The man who had whacked it had already been awake for a while. It was just imprinted in him now, to beat the alarm clock waking up. He grumbled a bit, then swung his legs around, and slowly got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He turned on the light, and squinted as he got used to its brightness. He then walked up to the mirror and stared at it. A 21-year-old Ferb Fletcher stared back.

He ran his hands through his messy hair. It was still green, after all these years. Ferb wasn't sure why he had kept it green, but it had been for as long as he could remember. He supposed it must have had something to do with his birth mother. Ferb debated whether or not he should brush it. He decided against it. Who would really care if his hair was messy? After all it was the start of summer. They would all look messy. He eyeballed the rest of himself. Ferb felt like he hadn't grown up very "glamorous". The rest of his body had shot up with his spidery legs, and he was now the tallest in the family. He wasn't muscularly built; he had a very willowy structure like his father. He still felt a little self-conscious about himself. After going to college, Ferb Fletcher had gone from the quiet inventing ladies man daredevil half of Phineas and Ferb, to just Ferb Fletcher; the quiet one. He hadn't made many friends there; besides other Finkies he had talked to sometimes. It made him wonder if Phineas was the only reason he had any friends at all.

Ferb brushed his teeth, then splashed some water on his face. He leaned back against the counter looking around the bathroom, and smiled. It was nice being back in his house. He walked back to his room slowly.

Candace's plan had succeeded. She had dated Jeremy through high school and college, and as soon as they graduated, she had become Mrs. Johnson. Quite soon afterwards, she had become pregnant with her first child, Amanda Linda Johnson. Needless to say, Candace hadn't lived in this house for years. When she officially left, Ferb had received her bedroom. It wasn't like she had really gone anywhere; her house was just down the street.

Anyway, Ferb no longer lived with Phineas. He had his whole room to himself. That was something you grew to miss when you were stuck in a dorm with a billion other guys. He stretched his arms out, enjoying the space. The house was totally silent. Ferb wondered why he had left his alarm on, when he knew it was summer. Maybe he just liked the silence of the early morning. Ever since the guys had gotten home from college, it had been anything but silent. He had to admit; the reunion had been one of the best days ever. Buford, Baljeet, Phineas, and Ferb had all unfortunately gone to different colleges; so once again, they had to seize everyday of summer together. But, the reunion from this week had been special because that wouldn't be the case anymore. They would be able to hang out regardless of the season. Ferb felt like he had two more brothers in Baljeet and Buford. Anyway, four college age guys together could get kind of loud. And his parents were still as wacky as ever, with weird antiques and hobbies. Not to mention Candace and her big mouth would bring Amanda over regularly. Amanda was only five, but of course five-year olds were extremely loud and obnoxious. She would always be complaining about how she was bored and how nobody ever does anything around here. She loved what Phineas and Ferb did though. Even if Amanda could be subdued, Candace could not. Not only was she still trying to "bust" Phineas and Ferb, but she was also especially annoying because she was pregnant. All in all, Ferb appreciated silence.

Despite how annoying everyone could get together, Ferb loved that no one had changed. Buford was still a big "tuff" guy, Baljeet was still a nerd, Mom and Dad were still cool, Candace still wanted to bust, and Perry would still disappear during the day. And the house was the same. Ferb loved this house, and he loved the yard as well.

And summer. Ferb loved summer. Summer as an adult was even somewhat better than summer as a kid because there wasn't the lurking monster that was the start of school. However, he was still a little worried about the future. Ferb had majored in mechanical engineering and diplomacy, but he wasn't sure what he was going to do with them in real life. He wasn't Phineas; he didn't always know what he was going to do today, and he definitely didn't know what he wanted to do tomorrow.

Ferb decided against going downstairs to pour himself a bowl of cold cereal when he knew Mom would be up in a little bit to make a warm homemade breakfast. So he decided to do his favorite thing to do in private… check his email.

Ferb didn't mean looking at chain letters from his cousins, or at subscriptions to tool websites. Ferb at this point had two emails: one was a typical email, for school and friends and such. And the other, well the other wasn't technically his email at all; everything coming out of that one was signed by Phineas.

Ferb didn't know why he had kept up the charade. He just remembered how happy Isabella had seemed when she had replied, over ten years ago. So he had replied back. And then she had sent something back. And then he had. And before he knew it, it had been ten years.

Well, Ferb kind of knew why he kept up the sham he had created. He had kept it up for the same reason he wanted to check his email now. He had become… attached to Isabella. Emailing her had become his guilty pleasure. It always made him so happy to see something from her in his inbox. He and Isabella had forged an unbreakable connection after emailing each other everyday for all these years. No one understood him like Isabella; he could tell her anything. As for pretending to be Phineas… well… it wasn't like he was hurting anybody.

So Ferb went over to his laptop and opened up his email. He was thrilled when he saw a new email from Isabella. He happily opened it, and began reading. He almost felt like laughing as he read; he could picture her screaming. However, as he continued, his eyes widened in horror. Ferb almost fell out of his chair as he stared blankly at the screen. Then he turned the computer off, and got up as if he was in a daze. He opened his mouth and said something slowly. But, when he said it again it was much faster and more urgent. He began screaming it as he darted out of his room.

"Phineas. Phineas! PHINEAS!"


	5. Phineas Now

**Okay guys, between you and me, this might be my favorite chapter so far. It was pretty fun to write. I hope they don't seem TOO out of character, but remember, they aren't the same kids from chapter 1.**

* * *

The bedroom was completely lit with natural light from the window, and from a table lamp that was turned on. The room's only occupant was lying on his stomach, attempting to multitask. He had a notebook open, in which he was scribbling a long list of ideas for the current summer. His laptop was open to a schematic of what looked to be like some sort of vehicle. And he also had his phone open to a long series of text messages. This was the current Phineas Flynn.

Phineas had always been extremely popular. And why not? Who wouldn't want to be friends with the genius optimistic inventor, who could literally build a rollercoaster in his backyard? So Phineas had sailed through life with his brains and good attitude. Not to mention his looks. Phineas hadn't grown as tall as Ferb, but he was a good height. He was also a solid wall of muscle. Phineas had joined the football team in high school after some prodding from Buford. And he had ended up quarterback! He had played through college as well. So he had a much tougher physique than Ferb. And the ladies were drawn to Phineas. Whether they initially liked him for his contraptions, his popularity, or his handsome features, they stayed because of his personality. Phineas would treat any girl like a queen.

He was yet to ask a girl out though. Once everyone saw that Isabella, probably the most popular girl in their grade, couldn't get Phineas to ask her out, they knew it was never going to happen. Subtlety simply would not work on Phineas Flynn. You had to be upfront and direct about it. His first girlfriend had been Jasmine, the first person to ever just walk up to him and say, " Do you want to go out with me?". Other girls had just followed suit, even in college.

Phineas still liked to live for today. He had everything planned out and ready for his future, but he had yet to tell anyone what those plans were. He hadn't even told Ferb. At least not specifically. Phineas was already planning to do… whatever it was that he was going to do… with Ferb.

This summer was going to be special; he could feel it. Him and the guys would be doing some of the greatest plans he had ever come up with. Nothing was going to mess this up.

"Phineas. Phineas! PHINEAS!"

Phineas looked up from his bed to see his brother almost tumble into the room, panting.

"What's up, bro?" he chuckled.

Ferb was still panting a little, and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

"You alright dude? You're completely white."

Ferb nodded very slowly.

"Okay, so what brought my brother, man of few words, screaming into my bedroom early in the morning?"

Ferb opened his mouth, and began pacing the floor.

"Ferb. Hey Ferb! Come on, what's bugging you?"

Ferb looked both ways, and turned to close the bedroom door. "Phineas, I need you to listen to what I'm going to say VERY carefully."

"Shoot." Phineas said, though his eyes were returning to his laptop. Ferb slammed the screen down.

"Dude!" Phineas exclaimed. "What is wrong with you?"

"VERY CAREFULLY." Ferb hissed.

"O…k…"

Ferb was beginning to get all nervous and flustered again. "Do you remember that girl who used to live down the street, Isabella?"

"Oh yeah… what ever happened to her anyway? Did she go off the grid or something?"

Ferb just glared at him.

"What? Okay, so what about this chick?" said Phineas.

"She moved to Alaska when we were like eleven. And she wanted to keep in touch with… you."

"Your point being?"

Ferb started talking really fast. "Well, you didn't want to email her, so I did, but I knew she didn't want me to, so I said I was you, and then she wrote back, and I did too, and we kept it going…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Are you saying you've been writing some random old neighbor we had for TEN years!? And that you were pretending to be ME!?"

Ferb nodded his head sadly.

Phineas couldn't wrap his head around it. "This is crazy! Why… you know, I don't even know what to say. But why are you telling me NOW?"

Ferb muttered something under his breath.

"What?"

"I said, because she emailed me this morning, and said she was moving back to Danville." Ferb replied.

Phineas stared at him, with a blank expression on his face. "I'm going to kill you." He started towards Ferb. "I am actually going to kill you right now."

Ferb ducked Phineas' arm and started running out of the room.

"FERB!" Phineas yelled.

Ferb started running down the stairs as fast as he could, as Phineas came thundering after him.

"Phineas," he yelped. "Just hear me out!"

"What?" Phineas said. "What's your brilliant idea to get me out of this situation? I can't believe I'm going to have to pretend I've been talking to this random chick I haven't seen or heard from in years!"

"You can easily do it. Trust me Phin, she's a lovely girl once you get to know her. We were all friends once; we can all be friends again."

"Or I could just tell her it was you the whole time. Did you think of that genius?"

"NO! Then she would hate both of us!"

Ferb got on his knees and began groveling. "What's it gonna take for you to do this for me? Presents, favors, cash?"

"Nothing! Dude, you basically just screwed our summer over!"

Just then the phone began ringing loudly. "I got it boys." they heard Mom say from upstairs. The guys stayed totally silent and still as they listened to the conversation begin.

"Oh, hello Isabella. It's been way too long darling. Yes, I heard you were back from your mom. Of course you can come over today… the boys will be so happy."

Phineas and Ferb looked at each other. Both of them were still silent, but they were thinking the same thing.

Shit.


	6. The Plan Of Attack

"Yup… I know… in the backyard? Oh, sweetheart I think Candace might have told you a couple tall tales. So why don't you and your mom stop by in a few hours? What… of course I'll be getting you kids snacks… just like the old days… ok… bye bye sweetie."

Linda Flynn-Fletcher hung up the phone. It would be so nice for the boys to reunite with their childhood friend. She hoped they would remember her. Well, Vivian had said Isabella had been keeping in touch. As Linda turned to go downstairs, she caught her two boys attempting to sneak into Phineas' room. Her eyes narrowed.

"Boys, what are you up to? I figured you would be downstairs, ready for breakfast."

Phineas turned to Ferb frantically, and then back towards his mother. "Uh, uh, NOTHING! We are up to absolutely nothing! I mean, what would we be up to, we're just some sleepy young men, and, and we definitely were not listening to you talk on the phone, 'cause that would be wrong!" Phineas said, and flashed an unrealistically huge smile towards his mom and then Ferb.

Ferb covered his eyes with his hands, and started shaking his head. You see, this is why Phineas never lied. He silently prayed to himself that Linda wouldn't get upset or suspicious. They only had a couple hours, or less, until Isabella came over. They could not waste any time by getting in trouble. And Ferb could not afford to tell another person his secret. For someone so positive all the time, Phineas sure had gone off on him.

Luckily for the boys, Linda dismissed Phineas' comment. "I'm going downstairs to make you breakfast, and I'm also going to be making brunch for later. We have a SPECIAL guest coming over."

Ferb watched his mom go downstairs, and then let out the huge breath he had been holding in. He then turned and glared at Phineas. His brother wasn't paying attention to him though.

"Ok, good, good, Mom doesn't suspect anything. Bro, you kind of owe me for that quick save just then."

Ferb couldn't help it; he whacked Phineas in the back of his head, then he pulled his grumbling brother into the bedroom.

**X**

Isabella sighed. "Mom, can we open the skylight?"

"Of course, darling."

The window began opening, and Isabella stuck her head through it. The sun was shining, and it was the perfect temperature outside. She laughed. She had never been so happy in her life.

However, the car was going at a fairly fast speed, making the top of the car very windy. Isabella stuck her head back in the car. Her mother glanced at her, and began chuckling.

"What?" Isabella asked.

"Your hair looks like a puffball."

"Aaaahhh!" Isabella squealed, as she shrunk down into the seat and covered her hair with both hands.

"That's what you get for sticking it out the window."

"Aaahh, no, Mami, you have to fix it!"

Vivian smiled at her daughter. "Why? What are you so dressed up for anyway?"

Isabella blushed bright red. "Nothing." She muttered, and turned to look out the window.

Isabella felt pretty close to exploding. Every house, every tree, was looking more and more familiar. Of course, some things were new or different, but most of it was the same. I'm almost there, she thought. I'm almost with Phineas.

**X**

"Ok," Phineas began. He was wearing an army helmet, covered in camouflage, and was holding a ruler, with which he was pointing at a large chalkboard, where he had drawn several things. "First thing's first, roll call. Lieutenant Ferb?"

"Are you serious right now?" Ferb said, exasperated, from Phineas' bed.

"I repeat, Lieutenant Ferb!?"

"Present." Ferb groaned.

"Good man. Ok, Private Perry?"

The aging platypus sitting next to Ferb on the bed made his signature noise.

"Men, in exactly .5 hours, our stronghold will be breached by a foreign invader. Now we were once allies with this invader, and the Lieutenant has assured me that we can be again. Our job is to come up with a plan to help the Lieutenant make contact with her. I have drawn some diagrams to match the plans I have already come up with."

Phineas smacked at the chalkboard loudly. "Plan A: The haunted house. We re-create a more deadly looking version of our famous haunted house in front of the real house. Then, you and Dad and Baljeet dress up in costumes, and tell Isabella that it's cursed, and…"

"Next." Said Ferb.

"Plan B: The amnesia-inator. We create a ray to zap Isabella and make her forget that she ever emailed us. Well?"

Ferb just stared at him.

Phineas gulped. "Ok. Plan C: Denial. We pretend we never knew this Isabella, and we go to the park instead."

Ferb groaned loudly.

Phineas frowned at him. "And finally, my personal favorite, Plan D: The truth. You tell Isabella you were the one emailing her."

Ferb got up. "Or we could just do my plan of you pretending you emailed her."

Phineas glared at him. "I already said I wasn't going to do that Ferb!"

Now Ferb was glaring too. "So you won't simply pretend that you wrote a couple emails to a friend, but you'll dress up as an army general and come up with a million ridiculous schemes?!"

"At least I'm trying to help!" Phineas shouted.

Ferb sighed, and his angry demeanor went away. "I know."

"And I'm sorry for being annoying or obnoxious, or whatever you think I was being." Phineas said.

Both the boys were silent. Ferb didn't know what to do or to say. It felt like a hug moment. Ferb hadn't hugged his brother in years. But that was too awkward for two 21-year old guys. So he did nothing.

DING DONG!

Both the boys almost jumped out of their skins.

"She's here!" Ferb whispered.

The guys almost slithered their way to the staircase, but neither of them wanted to go down. Ferb pointed towards Phineas.

"No you go!" Phineas said.

Ferb shook his head violently.

"Ok, we can just stay here and look at the door then."

The bell rang again, and they saw Mom walk up to the door. Both the boys crouched lower. She was opening it! Ferb couldn't bear to watch, but he couldn't keep his eyes away.

As soon as the door opened, the hall was filled with joyful noise. Mom and Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro were embracing, and laughing, and Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro was blubbering in Spanish.

"It's so great to see you again Linda!"

"I know! Where's Isabella, by the way?"

Ferb felt like he was going to throw up.

"Oh," Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro laughed. "We had a little hair emergency. Isa! Come in here! I fixed it, you look fine!"

Isabella was shaking like a leaf, but she stepped inside.

Wow. That was all Ferb could think. Ferb had never seen anyone more beautiful in his life. She was moderately tall, and slender. Her skin was heavenly fair, with not a blemish nor scar anywhere. Her hair was amazing; cascading down her back, raven black, shiny, yet fluffy. She had the most perfect figure, curvaceous, but still dainty. She was wearing a floaty pink short dress; she managed to look delicately sweet and dangerously sexy at the same time. Ferb felt his heart stop.

Whoa. That was all Phineas could think. Phineas had never seen anyone more beautiful in his life. She was wearing minimal makeup, but the little she had on made her face glow pink. Her eyes were a wintery blue, with long long eyelashes. She stood, tall, proud, and confident. Phineas felt something he had never before.

Isabella. Phineas thought. As if in an instant, memories of his childhood came flooding back. Isabella, the fireside troop leader. Isabella, the curious girl from down the street. Isabella, the girl so cute, she could win a battle at it. Phineas felt something born in him that had never been there before.

"Ok." He said.

"What?" Ferb said.

"I'll do it. I'll pretend I wrote to her."

"Really?" Ferb said, relieved.

"Yup, we're going through with your plan of attack."

* * *

**Another fun chapter for me to write. I don't really like hyping up Isabella though. So based on who has been PM-ing me and reviewing, a lot of you guys like Phinbella AND Ferbella. Well, this story is beginning to become a love triangle... what will happen next? Please PM and review!**

**Love Silver**


	7. What We're Going To Do Today

***POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT (If you care about the couples, keep reading)***

**Hello, my cherubs reading this. I just love writing for you all; I totally forgot how much fun it can be. I would like to thank you for reading and getting emotionally invested. So invested, in fact, that after posting yesterday, I was bombed by PMs of people begging for me to keep this Ferbella. This story is listed as Isabella&Ferb and it WILL stay that way.**

* * *

Ferb was thanking the heavens that Phineas had finally agreed to his plan. He could only imagine what Isabella would have felt if she had heard the truth. First of all, her heart would be utterly smashed, realizing that Phineas had never kept in touch with her, not even remembering who she was. Then, she would be horrified, and ANGRY, when she realized it had been Ferb the whole time. That was how she had reacted whenever she used to get stuck with Ferb. Plus, she would never be able to consider Ferb a friend again, since he had lied to her. He could already see her beautiful face curling with disgust.

And it was still beautiful. Ferb had always thought Isabella was cute, but in a she's just a ten-year old girl kind of way. And in all the pictures he had of her, she looked very pretty. But this, this young women standing in this house was breathtaking. Ferb was relieved about Phineas' decision, but he still felt sick for some reason.

Mom was guiding the Garcia-Shapiros into the kitchen. Now was the boys' chance to go down without seeming foolish. Ferb turned to cue his brother, but Phineas was not next to him anymore. He was already walking down the stairs. Ferb scrambled up, and followed him.

Ferb hadn't realized how excited he was until this very moment. In all the horror and fighting that he and his lies had caused, he hadn't noticed that he was thrilled. After everything he and Isabella had said to each other, he felt like he knew her very well. And, well, he was excited she was here to talk to him in person. Ferb got off the last step, and kept walking slowly, right next to Phineas. Isabella, here I come, he thought.

Isabella's ears perked up. She could hear footsteps; two sets of slightly familiar footsteps.

Ferb braced himself. He was almost in the kitchen. He was going to do it. Not only would he talk to Isabella, but he would be witty, and charming, and she would love being around him. Ferb was ready for… whoa! A flying blob of pink and black whizzed by Ferb, missing his nose by an inch. The blurred figure zipped past him, and launched itself into the arms of…

"Phineas! Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!"

Ferb's heart sank into his shoes. Oh right. Isabella had never emailed Ferb. She had never even liked Ferb.

Phineas had a big grin on his face. He wrapped his arms tightly around Isabella. "I missed you too Isabella." He assumed she was going to let go, but she didn't. In fact, she was hugging him even tighter. So he rested his cheek on the top of her head, taking in her sweet scent.

"Well, I guess I was wrong in saying you wouldn't remember each other." Linda said. "Ok, you crazy kids, break it up."

Isabella pulled away and smiled brightly at Phineas. He smiled back. "So I guess you're excited to have your first real summer in a long time, huh? Since it's so icy cold in Alaska all the time."

"Oh Phineas, you know that it isn't really frigid in Alaska." Isabella said.

"Uh, yeah, right." Phineas replied. Way to go, Flynn, he thought. You already blew your cover. "Um, uh, you remember Ferb don't you?"

Ferb had been awkwardly looking at his feet since Isabella had blown by him. He slowly lifted his eyes up, and he was met with a pair of blue ones, staring into his.

"Hi Ferb." Isabella said sweetly.

Ferb didn't know what to do. He was frozen in place. Isabella looked at him, with a confused look. Just then, Phineas grabbed her elbow, and began guiding her away.

"Oh, you know Ferb." Phineas said. "He still isn't that chatty."

"Yeah, I noticed."

Ferb moaned quietly to himself. Isabella and Phineas had gone into the kitchen, leaving him alone in the hall. Could he have been a bigger fool? He didn't know what was wrong with him. All he knew was that around Isabella, he just couldn't think straight. He walked into the kitchen. Mom had set up an elaborate brunch.

Ferb's stomach growled. He forgot that he hadn't even eaten breakfast. So he sat down at the edge of the table. He looked down it. Mom and Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro were chatting and giggling like teenagers together on one side of the table. On the other side, Isabella was propping her head up with one hand, and was gazing dreamily at Phineas. He was animatedly telling her a story, most likely one about a summer idea, judging by the actions he was making. Ferb looked to both sides. Dad wasn't home this week. The only one left for him to talk to was sitting awkwardly on the ground. Ferb gently patted the platypus' head.

Since he wasn't in a conversation, Ferb started grabbing food, dropping it on his plate, and shoving it in his mouth. As he watched Phineas and Isabella laughing, his actions started going faster and faster. Grab, drop, shove. Grab, drop, shove. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his wrist.

"Ferb, honey, I know you're hungry, but please slow down and chew your food."

The rest of the table was now looking at him. Ferb swallowed what he had stuffed in his face all at once. This was so awkward.

"Sorry, Mum." Ferb said.

Everyone's eyes returned to their food, and their conversations. Except one girl's blue eyes kept flitting back to Ferb. He was beginning to wish he HAD brushed his hair. And the cold cereal would have kept him from looking like a pig in front of Isabella.

After brunch was finished, the adults went upstairs to continue their conversation, and the slightly younger adults went out to the front yard.

"Hey, Ferb," Phineas said. "I know what we're going to do today!"

Isabella squealed and clapped her hands together. "He said it! I missed that so much!"

Ferb smiled a very small smile, while Phineas stared at her, like she had done something bizarre. "ANYWAY, I know what we're going to do today. We're going to reintroduce Isabella to the neighborhood."

"Oh Phineas, you don't need to do that. You already told me everything that happened in your letters."

Ferb smirked. It's true, he had. He was the quiet one, he was the observant one. It only made sense to share what he observed with Isabella.

"Uh," Phineas said "But don't you want to see everybody?"

"You mean, see Buford, Baljeet, Irving, Candace, my troop, and everyone else? Of course I do! Lets go!" Isabella said. She grabbed Phineas' hand and they both started running across the lawn, laughing.

Ferb sighed. All right, let them have their fun. Just like the old days. He turned to go back inside.

"FERB! FERB, COME ON!" he heard.

Isabella and Phineas were still holding hands, but they were beckoning Ferb with their other ones.

Ferb smiled to himself. "OK, WAIT UP. I'M COMING!"


	8. No Fair

Isabella skipped along the sidewalk, her arm entwined with Phineas'. Could life get any better? The reunion had gone off without a hitch and Phineas was even dreamier in person. And for the very first time in her life, Phineas' eyes were completely on her. This was even better than all the times he had built something for her, because building always seemed to take over his mind. Now Isabella was finally getting the kind of attention she had always wanted. Was he feeling what she was feeling too? She had thought so in the letters, but she was still a little worried.

"Isabella, who do you want to see first? I wish you had given me a little more notice; we could've had another party." Phineas said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. It was short notice for me too. I don't really care, I want to see everybody."

They turned the corner to Baljeet's house. Buford's motorcycle was parked in the driveway.

"Cool," Phineas said. "Buford's here too."

"I'm sooo excited Phineas. I just can't believe I'm back. Of course, with your emails, it was almost like I never left."

"Right." Phineas pulled nervously at his collar, and knocked on the door.

Loud music could be heard as the door opened.

"Phineas, we were just about to come over and see what you were going to do today." Baljeet said.

Baljeet was the shortest of the four guys. He was neither fat nor thin. His thick Indian hair was still neatly cut, and he was wearing simple shorts and a T-shirt.

"Well, change of plans Jeet," Phineas said. "I have a special friend to introduce to you."

Isabella popped her head up from behind Phineas' shoulder. "Surprise!"

Baljeet smiled widely. "Oh Isabella, can it be true? Buford, come in here."

Buford came lumbering in with a large hammer in his hands. Buford was a big, beefy man, with a buzz cut, and five o'clock shadow. "I told you, today we need to smash some stuff." His eyes narrowed. "I got some issues to work out." He then saw Isabella. "Whoa, a chick! We haven't hung out with a chick since…." He then realized who was standing in the hallway. "ISABELLA!"

Buford ran up to her and gave her a big bear hug. "Thanks… Buford… but… you're… squishing…me." Isabella wheezed.

Buford let her go and backed up. "And before any of you sissies say anything, tuff guys can hug when it's strictly a reunion kind of thing."

"My turn." Baljeet pranced over and hugged her.

Isabella smiled. "You guys haven't changed a bit."

They both gave her toothy grins.

"The gang's all back together!" Phineas said. They all smiled.

Then Buford noticed something. "Hey, where's Ferb?"

A long arm shot up from behind Phineas. In all the confusion, and reunion, Ferb hadn't even made it into the building. He had just been standing in the doorway, behind Phineas.

**X**

"Bye guys!" Phineas waved to Buford, as he went home, and to Baljeet as he closed the door.

They had spent the whole time catching up. Isabella had learned about Baljeet's medical dreams, Buford's motorcycle, Biff II, and all the other major things that had happened to them since she left. And there weren't that many of them! It was like she had never left, or like Danville had stopped changing just for her.

Phineas stuck out his arm to Isabella once more. "My lady,"

Isabella giggled and curtsied. "You're such a gentleman."

"Where to next? Paris, Tokyo, the moon?" Phineas exclaimed.

"How about Candace's instead?" Isabella laughed.

"Right this way."

The two bounded off, once again leaving the third member of the party behind. Ferb grumbled to himself. This wasn't as bad as how Phineas and Isabella used to be. This was much MUCH worse. Even if Isabella had always wanted to run away with Phineas, Phineas had never responded to her actions before. Could Phineas actually LIKE Isabella? Ferb felt extremely ill. But it had to be true! Phineas never acted like this with the prettiest of girls. But he was acting like this with Isabella. This, whatever this thing they were doing together was, could most definitely be classified as flirting. FLIRTING.

And once again Ferb was the third wheel. Maybe he had never outwardly shown it, but Ferb was getting tired of being shoved to the side. And he hadn't even gotten to say anything to Isabella yet.

He stopped in front of Candace's house. Isabella and Phineas had no doubt already run inside. The lights were on, and he could see silhouettes of people laughing and hugging. The mere fact that the lights were on made him realize how dark it was already. And it was a little chilly. He sighed and walked inside.

The house smelt like cookies. Warm and homemade. He could hear laughing from the kitchen. Ferb kept going until he was all the way in.

The scene was perfect, in a chaotic sort of way. Jeremy was wearing oven mitts and an apron over an orange shirt. Jeremy was the perfect husband, charming, doting on his wife and daughter. If any other man had been pulling cookies from the oven, it would have seemed dumb, but it wasn't with Jeremy.

Next to him was a little girl, wearing a purple dress, with her orange hair in two cute little pigtails. She was bouncing as high as she could, up and down. "Daddy, daddy, daddy, are they ready?"

"They have to cool Amanda."

"No fair." She pouted, and crossed her arms.

Meanwhile, Phineas, Isabella, and Candace were sitting at the kitchen table together. Candace was pointing an accusatory finger at Phineas. "You're saying that all you were doing today was hanging out with an old friend?"

"Yup." He replied.

"But, but, that's so… NORMAL." Candace stuttered. "OW! Okay," she put her hands on her big rounded stomach. "Whoever just kicked me is so grounded when they come out!"

"Whoever?" Isabella asked.

"Twins." Candace said, smiling.

Ferb sat down at the table. "Hey Ferb." Isabella said.

Ferb opened his mouth. Come on, he thought. Just say something to her. Anything! "Isabella…" he began.

DING! The timer Jeremy had set for cooling went off.

"… do you want a cookie?"

Isabella arched her eyebrow at him. "Sure."

"Come and get it!" Jeremy said.

Everyone rushed up to get cookies, except Ferb. He sighed. He had no guts. Absolutely none. And with all this time he had been wasting thinking about Isabella, he hadn't thought of WHAT to say to her.

"Ok kiddies, don't eat too many, you'll spoil your dinner." Candace said.

"Aww, Mom!" they all said, mocking her.

They wolfed down the cookies almost as fast as humanly possible. Man, Jeremy could bake! After they finished, Candace collected the plates, and took them to the sink. Jeremy left to do some work in the office, and Amanda went to play with her toys.

"Come on Isabella, let's go sit in the living room." Phineas said.

"Ok Phineas." She got up and went with him.

Ferb made the move to follow them, when someone called him.

"Hey, Ferb," Candace said. "Help me out and dry while I rinse, will ya?"

Ferb frowned, but turned around to help his sister. He could hear Isabella and Phineas talking in the other room.

"It's been so fun hanging out with you again." Isabella said.

"Yeah, I know." Phineas replied. "So, I don't want to seem pushy, or make things awkward between us, or anything, but,"

Ferb strained to hear what his brother was saying.

"Would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight? You know, like a date?"

There was a loud smash in the kitchen as Ferb dropped the plate he had been drying.


	9. An Unbreakable Trap

**Ok, I just want to say I'm honored that you like the story so far (Baljeet reference). I wasn't planning to update today, but I feel I must. So here is a little baby angst chapter for you. And I promise, it's going to start getting a little more exciting after this. **

**Love, Silver**

* * *

Linda walked up the stairs, carrying the heavy old vacuüm cleaner. Every once in a while, she felt the urge to clean up her house. Even if it wasn't dirty. She dragged the vacuüm around the corner, to Ferb's room. She opened the door, and tugged the vacuüm in, ready to clean. Suddenly, she heard a rustle behind her, and she jumped. Her hands scrambled to the light switch to see what was going on.

"Oh, Ferb it's you. You scared me."

Ferb had been lying on his bed, face down into his sheets. He just barely lifted his head to acknowledge his mother.

"Why are you lying here all alone in the dark sweetie? Do you feel sick?" Linda rushed forward, to feel her son's face and check his eyes.

Ferb shook his head.

"Then what's wrong? Why don't you do something? I know, why don't you go hang out with Phineas?" Linda suggested.

Ferb's head shot up from the pillow. "He's back?"

Linda nodded. "Yeah, he got back ten-fifteen minutes ago. He's in his room."

Ferb got off his bed, and darted out of his room and into Phineas'.

Linda smiled. "Oh, those boys. Nothing could come between them."

**X**

Phineas sighed dreamily. He danced around his room slowly. Oh, what a night! Until, once again, Ferb tumbled into his room.

"Hey, Ferb. Isn't life great?"

"Whatever. So, umm, how was it?"

"How was what, Ferb-a-roo? Ferb-a-tron? Ferb-ulence?"

"STOP. How was your, pizza, a, date, with… Isabella?"

"It was great. It was really great. We're going to the movies tomorrow." Phineas sighed. "You know, I think she really likes me."

"You're going out again?"

"Yes, I kind of just said that."

"So, uh, did you do anything, special? On your date, I mean."

Phineas cocked an eyebrow. "We ate pizza. Then I told her about the pizza bar we built in the backyard. And we talked about how pets always seem to vanish during the day."

"But," Ferb did not know how to ask this, "Did you DO anything?"

"Huh? OH… umm," Phineas blushed. "Some kissing may have occurred."

Ferb paled. He started walking out.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room."

And with that, he walked out.

Ferb slammed the door violently. He turned off the lights, and grabbed his iPod. He turned on a sad Love Handel rock tune, and blasted it through his headphones. Damn it! Goddamn it! He was about two steps away from becoming dangerously unstable. This couldn't be healthy. Sitting in his dark room like this. But what could he do? He didn't have much else.

He propped his laptop open on his lap, and clicked on an album he had titled "Isabella". Pictures of her from all ages popped up in a slide show. Ferb sighed. Who was he kidding? Of course this wasn't healthy.

He had set an unbreakable trap for himself. He had asked Phineas to pretend he had emailed Isabella. He had asked for it. And now Phineas had fallen for Isabella. And he had made Isabella believe Phineas had emailed her. And now Isabella had fallen for Phineas. And he had emailed Isabella. He had sat down and written her, day after day, year after year. He didn't have to, but he had. And now Ferb had finally come to realize it: he was in love with Isabella. He was hopelessly, madly, deeply, truly, in love with Isabella. He didn't just love her because she was stunning; he loved every bit of her mind, soul, and body. And maybe he always had.


	10. Something's Off

**I forgot what I was going to say. Oh yeah, the Northeast is slightly snowed in right now, so I had some time to write. And watch Phineas and Ferb. Saw Canderemy for like the billionth time. Ferb obviously didn't want Phineas and Isabella alone at the movie together. It's just obvious. So anyway, I really like this chapter... tell me what you guys think.**

* * *

Isabella opened the doors wide to her closet. She had to admit, she was a fan of the new house. The closet was huge, and so was her room. However, no new house could compare to living on the same street as Phineas and Ferb.

Phineas was, in fact, the reason why she was combing her closet. She and Phineas had a lunch date today. It was their, well; she had lost track of how many dates they had gone on. To the amusement park, the pizza place, a concert, the park, the movies twice. There were probably more she had forgotten.

Isabella sighed. This had always been her dream. When she was little, she had fantasized a centaur Phineas whisking her away on a rainbow into a castle in the clouds. Of course dating Phineas was nothing like that. But as she had been emailing him, she had imagined that once they'd meet, it would be different than her girlhood fantasy. It would be a modern-day fairytale. Phineas would know every detail about her, and she him. Their love would be as true as possible. And every touch would be a dream come true.

But dating Phineas was nothing like that either. When they had first kissed, she had felt… nothing. Absolutely nothing. It had even been awkward for her, what with his triangular head and all. At least Phineas seemed to have enjoyed it.

And it wasn't just the physical stuff. Phineas just didn't seem to fit with her. When she had emailed him, it had almost felt like a real conversation. But when she really tried to talk with Phineas, she could barely get a word in. And that was a problem. Isabella was a chatty person; Phineas was even chattier. She couldn't help feeling like her Phineas should be quieter.

Had all her feelings been in her head? Was she not supposed to be with Phineas? She had always wanted to be with him, but now that she was… it didn't seem right.

She sighed and looked through the closet. She at least wanted to look nice. She looked down her line of dresses. All she ever wore were dresses. Was she afraid of change? Maybe she was the problem, not Phineas. Today she would mix it up a little. She searched through the closet. Come on; there had to be something in here. Her eyes stopped at one peculiar outfit.

It was a small off-white one-button short sleeve shirt, with extremely high-waisted purple trousers. She smiled. She didn't remember when she had bought this but she remembered why. She had found it in a clearance bin in Alaska a long time ago. It was a woman's version of Ferb's old clothes from the Summer All The Time collection he and Phineas had designed. It had just caught her eye, reminding her of Danville, and reminding her of Ferb.

She hadn't really gotten to talk to Ferb since she came back. She had never really been fond of him, but that was just because she liked Phineas. Once she had left everyone back home, she really recognized that she wouldn't have Ferb anymore. Ferb was the one she would vent to about Phineas. Ferb was the one who would comfort her on an abandoned beach. Ferb was the one who would wait by the garbage cans until her car pulled away.

And she had barely spoken to him. She felt like a jerk. Not to mention she was taking up Phineas' time. The guys had barely made anything all summer. She owed something to Ferb.

Then she had an idea. She would invite Ferb to go to lunch with her and Phineas. Then she would be able to talk to Ferb, and then maybe she wouldn't feel weird with Phineas. She picked up her phone and dialed the number.

**X**

Well, she had worn it. She wasn't sure what had possessed her to, but she was modeling the Ferb Fletcher style right now. And she had to admit, it was kind of cute. She had even gone with a matching bow like how Stacy had.

Anyway, Phineas and Ferb were supposed to meet her at this nice little garden-y restaurant. It was really cute. She asked for a table for three outside. And then, as if on cue, she saw Phineas' and Ferb's car park in front of her.

"There's Isabella!" Phineas said. The guys got out and sat with her.

Phineas scooted his chair next to her. "Hey." He said romantically, as he pecked her cheek.

"Hey." She said, lifelessly. She turned her head to Ferb. "So, you were free, huh?"

Ferb nodded. Was she trying to rub the fact that he had no life in his face?

"Well, he didn't want to come, but Mom said he needed to get out of the house, 'cause all he's been doing is sitting alone in the dark, and-OOF!" Phineas said, as Ferb elbowed him in the side.

Isabella stared at Ferb. All he was doing was sitting alone? Was he all right?

A waiter walked up to the table and handed out menus. All three of them opened them up and scanned them. Then the waiter came back to take their orders.

"I'll have the three-bean soup please, low-sodium." Isabella said.

"House salad, for me." Ferb said.

"And I'll have… hmm… how about the double-decker burger?" Phineas said, rubbing his hands together.

"But Phineas," Isabella was confused. "I thought you were a vegetarian?"

"Vegetarian? I think you're talking about Fer-OOF!" he said as Ferb elbowed him again, harder.

"After the field trip? To the meat plant? You said you were going to become a vegetarian. And that's why I did too." Isabella said, sadly.

"Oh, umm, uhh," Phineas was becoming very nervous. "I couldn't keep it up. I mean, with Mom's meatloaf, who could?" He then got up. "Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom." And he left as fast as he could.

Isabella slid down in her chair. "He couldn't keep it up?" she said quietly.

Meanwhile, Ferb was looking at her curiously. "You… you became a vegetarian just because he said he was?"

She turned towards Ferb. "Well, yeah. It's good for the animals and the body. And I admire Phineas, so I just, did it."

Ferb didn't know whether to feel happy or sad. "You really care about him don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I mean, every email I got from him, it made my day. I've never felt so connected to anyone! But, now, something's… off. I can't explain it." She sighed. "Oh, and by the way, I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For ruining your summer with Phineas, and for, well, not talking to you. I keep forgetting, you really are one of my best friends."

Ferb smiled at her. "Apology accepted."

She smiled back. "I had a feeling it would be. You're too nice to reject it. And too stylish," she said referencing her outfit.

Ferb laughed.

Isabella continued. "And too smart. You're like, a genius!"

"I would definitely not say that. As of right now, I don't even know what I want to do with my life."

Isabella nodded. "Yeah, everybody feels like that sometimes. Except Phineas. The whole time I've been here, he seemed totally sure of himself." She looked confused for a second. "But he did write that he was worried in an email to me once."

"Well, who knows with Phineas? I'm going to go check on him in the bathroom."

He got up to leave, but was stopped by Isabella grabbing his hand. "Hey, Ferb," she said, "Why didn't you ever email me?"

He smiled a strange smile. "If I had, would you have treated me like you did Phineas?"

And with that he left to go to the bathroom, leaving a very confused Isabella outside.


	11. A Proposal

**Eleventh chapter, hurrah! For the record, I hate Phineas getting stuck as the "villain". I love him so much; more than Ferb and Isabella combined. He's pretty high up on the cartoon boys I would rape because they're so dang adorable (along with Arnold from HA!, Mac from Foster's, and Timmy Turner from FOP). Yeah, I know. I have a problem. But, anyway, this is a big chapter in the plotline, so enjoy.**

**Love, Silver**

* * *

Phineas lazily traced over a sketch he had drawn. It was very similar to a helicopter, but much more stylized, with flashy attachments. It was very well drawn. However, Phineas lifted the paper up, and crushed it in his hand. Honestly, Phineas didn't feel like building anything. He couldn't think of any new ideas. In fact, the only thing Phineas could think of right now was Isabella.

Phineas had never felt like this with anyone. Never in his life had he liked a girl so much. He supposed he was in some sort of honeymoon phase but still; Candace had ended up with her first boyfriend. All he felt like doing was being with her. Forever.

Phineas wondered if Isabella felt the same. She had been so excited and chirpy when she had first met him, but she was starting to look a little low. Maybe she was getting sick. Or MAYBE she was getting sick of him. Now that was a scary thought. He didn't want to lose Isabella.

In the past, girls had broken up with Phineas because they had felt like he wasn't giving the relationship his all. They said he preferred building things and hanging out with his friends to being with them. And Phineas never seemed to know a lot about his dates.

Well, he had already almost given up his friends and his summer plans by spending all his time with Isabella. So what was the problem? Maybe he wasn't being personal enough. Maybe he didn't know enough about her.

Now that one had to be the problem, because it was true. Phineas knew next to nothing about Isabella. He had what she had told him in the past few weeks, and he had some few distant memories of her. What he needed to do was plan a grand gesture for her to show her his affection. One that would touch her deeply.

Now what could he do for her? He knew some stuff about the Fireside girl Isabella, but what about the 21-year-old lady? How could he learn about her? Phineas snapped his fingers together. Of course, he thought. Ferb.

Phineas marched into Ferb's room. Ferb had progressed from lying alone in the darkness to reading stupid magazines and watching TV all day. It wasn't much of a difference but, hey, it was something.

"Ferb, can you help me out with something?"

Ferb's eyes flitted from his magazine up at Phineas and back down again at the page.

"Please? Come on, please?" Phineas was giving him puppy dog eyes.

Ferb sighed, and purposely folded the corner of the magazine as slow as possible. He then put it down and slowly looked up at Phineas.

"I need your help with something. I have another date with Isabella tonight, and I want to make it extra special for her." Phineas said.

"I propose that you think of something soon then." Ferb said dryly.

"Well, that's why I came in here." Phineas said, ever oblivious to Ferb's attitude. "You'll be able to think of the perfect date idea for us, since you know us so well. And in this situation, by us, I mainly mean her."

Ferb stifled a loud groan from escaping his mouth. Really? As if he would really play matchmaker to his brother and his true love! The problem was that he was already cast as that part. No doubt Phineas was already crediting him for setting the two of them up. It was his doing; him and those stupid letters. He really didn't want to help. Every fiber of his being was screaming DON'T HELP THEM FERB! Let Phineas crash and burn with Isabella. Let Isabella see the truth.

But there was nobody on Earth Ferb loved more than Isabella. He didn't even want to imagine what it would be like for her to find out Phineas had never emailed her. He didn't want to see her face when she realized that he and Phineas were filthy lying jerks. He wanted Isabella to be as happy as possible, even if it wasn't with him.

And of course he wanted Phineas to be happy. Sure, a part of him really hated Phineas right now, but it really wasn't his fault. Isabella had always liked Phineas, and nearly everyone in the neighborhood had been betting that he would eventually like her too. And now he did. It wasn't like Phineas knew how Ferb felt. Once again, that was Ferb's fault; he was the quiet one.

Ferb had to start facing facts; Isabella was never going to feel the same way about him. So there was no reason he should prevent her from being with her true love.

"Lights." Ferb said.

"What?" said Phineas.

"Twinkly lights. Kind of like what you use for Christmas."

"Lights?" Phineas questioned. "What do lights have to do with anything?"

"Just trust me." And with that Ferb got up and started walking downstairs, with Phineas eagerly following him.

**X**

Isabella sighed. Another date with Phineas. She wasn't bored, or sick of them, or of Phineas, but they just didn't feel right anymore. This was not what she had pictured when she imagined them dating. The closest memory she had of young Phineas being like this was when they were stuck on the beach, and he had said they should watch the sunset. That was just so unlike the boy she had fallen in love with. She would rather be watching him build something with Ferb then be going on another boring date with Phineas. There was just no spark between them. Sure, she still felt tingly when she read his emails, but maybe becoming adults had changed Phineas.

She parked her car in the Flynn-Fletcher driveway. Phineas had informed her that he would be doing something special for dinner tonight. Honestly Isabella didn't care that much.

She was going to do it. After spending her entire life in love with, totally and completely in love with, Phineas Flynn, she was going to break up with him. She knew it would be hard, but it had to be done. He wasn't the person she had fallen in love with.

Meanwhile, Phineas and Ferb were looking around the yard.

"I hope this works." Phineas said.

Ferb patted him on the arm.

"For the record Ferb, I might do something drastic tonight." Phineas said.

Ferb gave him a thumbs up and went into the house.

Isabella stuck one foot through the gate and gasped as she looked around the yard. Beautiful, twinkling lights were dancing around everywhere. From the tree, and the fence, and the house, and some that just seemed to float in midair. It looked amazing. Magical. A thousand times more spectacular than her parents' anniversary. And standing in the middle of the light show, next to a round table with two chairs, was Phineas, looking very nervous in a suit.

Isabella continued to gaze around in awe. "Phineas, this is amazing!"

"I had a feeling you would like it."

They sat down to eat dinner, and Phineas began telling her about the lights. The conversation was a little boring, but Isabella couldn't believe he remembered her story from the email, and that he had done all this for her. Still, the plan of breaking up with him was kicking her in the back of the head. She could still do it. And if he begged her to change her mind she would just say no. Just say no, she thought. No to her and Phineas.

After they finished eating dinner, it was time for dessert. A particularly familiar green-haired waiter gave it to them.

"Thanks Ferb" she said. He winked at her, and went back into the house.

They finished dessert in near silence. Isabella felt it was time to begin her speech. No to being with Phineas. No more "P+I". No.

But before she could say anything, Phineas began talking. "Isabella, being with you has been the best time of my life. I feel like we really have something special together. I knew it from the moment I saw you back in Danville. I love you."

Isabella was staring wide-eyed at him. He loved her?

"And I want you to know that I'm super nervous right now. I cannot believe I just said that. And I'm going to do something even crazier. Talk about seizing the day." The very nervous Phineas cleared his, throat, and reached into his pocket for something. Isabella's eyes grew even wider. He got down on one knee and opened the box. "Will you marry me?"

Isabella was almost positive she was going to pass out. Phineas was still talking; something about "even though we're young" and "I've known you forever", but all Isabella could do was stare at the ring. She had come to this date ready for a break-up, not a proposal. She tried to run through her line again. Just say no. That could definitely apply here.

"So, umm, what do you say, Isabella?" Phineas hopefully asked.

Just say no. She and Phineas were a bad match. She hadn't loved dating him; she wouldn't love being married to him. But she looked around at the light spectacular in the yard. Somehow he had remembered this. No, she thought. No.

"Phineas, umm," she looked down at his ever hopeful face. How could she say this? "I, umm, oh Phineas," and the word came tumbling out of her mouth before she could pull it back in.

"Yes."


	12. Blackjack

**I promised this was a Ferbella story. Okay peeps; it's Ferbella time!**

* * *

Everyone was going crazy. Everyone. The entire street, and nearly half of Danville was going crazy. Everyone knew Phineas Flynn, and everyone knew his little Mexican-Jewish play pal. And now they were getting married! It was the most exciting thing that had happened around town in a long time.

First there had been a fight over who was going to plan it; with the four teams being Team Candace (a long shot, but Aunty T recommended her), Team Vivian & Linda (an embarrassment), Team Phineas & Ferb (Ferb had yet to approve this.), and Team Hire A Professional (strongly recommended). Based on the long list of people Phineas was planning to invite (it was seriously long; it included everyone from Vanessa to Meap to Clive Addison), the wedding had to be in around two or three weeks, or everyone wouldn't be able to make it. After all, summer was when people had the most free time. So all the planning and setup had to be done very soon.

Isabella was beyond stressed. It was almost as if her mind was freezing up under all this tension. She still couldn't believe she was marrying Phineas. She didn't even know how she felt about him. Phineas didn't feel upset that she hadn't said I love you back to him. Isabella guessed that he assumed that she felt the same as he did.

"Ok Isabella," Phineas was walking up to her with a long checklist. "Our job is to pick out a wedding dress, invite all our friends and family, approve the dinner and dessert choices, decide where to have this thing, and when, get the justice of the peace, color-coordinate the bridesmaids and groomsmen…"

"Whoa, whoa, Phineas!" Isabella gasped. "That's a lot of stuff to do. I don't really feel up to it."

"But you have to choose things, you're the bride." He complained.

"I trust you to choose for us. In fact, why don't we have someone else organize this for us?"

"But I wanted to do it!" whined Phineas.

Isabella was thoroughly irritated at this point. "Ok, we'll get married at the local church, and the reception will be here, in the backyard, deal?" Phineas nodded in agreement. Isabella continued, "And I'm putting our moms in charge of catering."

"Thank you darling!" Vivian called.

Isabella sighed. Evidently, everyone was listening to her right now. "Candace will be in charge of all reception and attendees. The bridesmaids and groomsmen can group order their outfits. I'll pick my own dress."

Phineas looked impressed. "Wow, Isabella, how did you decide that so quickly?"

She faintly smiled. "Once a troop leader, always a troop leader. I hope you wrote all that down."

"Got it." Phineas said cheerfully, and he ran off to do other things.

Isabella felt like screaming. She had to get out of here! The entire first floor of the Flynn-Fletcher home, including both yards, was full of people. Her family, Phineas' family, Jeremy's, Buford's, Baljeet's, even Irving's. Her old troop, her old neighbors, her mom's other friends. Why did all these people even need to be here? It didn't actually take a village to plan a wedding. Isabella didn't even think she would be able to escape. No doubt her dad or somebody in the front yard would see her leaving.

Isabella suddenly realized where she could go. Upstairs. Based on the amount of people down here, nobody was even up there. She looked both ways, namely for Phineas, and darted up the stairs.

It was sweetly quiet up here. She had been right. No one was talking up here. Suddenly she heard Phineas' voice. It was starting to get louder. Was he looking for her? Was he coming upstairs? Isabella really did not feel like listening to any more Phineas schemes today. She scrambled into the guest room and shut the door. Whew!

Isabella flopped onto the bed face down. What was even going on with her? Shouldn't she be happy she was getting married? But she didn't even feel like being around Phineas. She had to shake this feeling.

She stuffed her nose deeper into the pillow. Damn! Why did it smell so good? Like the outdoors, and some kind of cologne, and… Ferb.

Shit! Isabella spun around onto her back and sat up. She looked around the room. Blueprints sat on the desk. There were figures from Stumbleberry Finkbat and Space Adventure on the shelf. There was a British Flag on the back of the door. Oh no!

In her haste, she hadn't ducked into the guest room; she had run into Ferb's room. Ok, Isabella thought, this isn't really a problem. I just have to leave and… the doorknob is turning!

The door to the room opened, and in walked Ferb. He had evidently just come from the bathroom; he was towelling his wet hair off and… and all he was wearing was a pair of jeans. Oh god! Isabella couldn't believe this, and how awkward it was. Yet, for some reason, she couldn't keep herself from ogling Ferb. Just the way his abs were slightly defined, and how his arms looked so strong, and his pecs, with droplets of water running down them…

Ferb was still towelling when he noticed Isabella sitting on his bed, staring at him. He slowly stopped what he was doing, and let his arms drop to his sides. He just stared back at Isabella.

Isabella started blushing. He was just looking at her, just like how she had been looking at him. Say something, she mentally pleaded. Just ask me why I'm here, or even better, kick me out! Anything to break this awkwardness! But of course, he was Ferb, man of few words. Isabella knew she had to be the one to say anything.

"I, I was just leaving Ferb." She said, blushing furiously. She got up to leave, with her head down. But Ferb caught her arm as she got nearer to the door. He was still staring at her. His hand sent shivers down her spine. She turned her head towards him, and their eyes locked. If his hand gave Isabella shivers, then meeting his eyes was like a lightning bolt going through her.

"No" Ferb said very quietly. "Why did you come in here?"

"I kind of just wanted to escape the crowd downstairs." Isabella explained. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She hoped she wasn't still blushing.

Ferb nodded, then walked over to his bed and sat down. Isabella wasn't sure what to do, until he patted the spot on the bed in front of him. She went and sat with him.

"Were you bored?" Ferb asked.

"I guess. I'm not crazy about the commotion everyone's making." Isabella noticed Ferb was reaching down into his side table drawer and pulling something out. She also noticed he still hadn't put a shirt on.

"You like cards?" he asked.

"Yeah." Isabella said eagerly. "What do you want to play?"

Ferb pretended to think for a moment, then smiled mischievously and said "Blackjack."

Isabella's mouth momentarily rounded into an O, but then turned into a matching smile. "Let's play."

Ferb started dealing the cards, and the game began. They took turns as dealer.

"Man Ferb, you are killing me. You're so much better than me at this." Isabella said.

"Well, I practice."

"Do you ever play with Phineas?"

Ferb winced. He should have known that his brother would be mentioned. Was he really going to add to his brother's image again? No.

"No." Ferb said. "Phineas never plays."

"Oh. Okay."

Ferb suddenly felt really guilty. So he decided to change the subject. "I think the best way to get to 21 is with a king, a queen, and an ace. They're like three lifelong friends, winning together."

Isabella shook her head. "No way. The best way is with just a queen and an ace. Then you only have to use two cards, and those two together win."

Ferb looked away from Isabella. "But everybody knows that the king and the queen belong together."

Isabella pulled his chin back to facing her. "But the king and queen alone will never win. They can never reach 21. The only way the queen can ever win is with her ace."

Isabella was still holding on gently to Ferb's chin. His eyes locked on to hers once more, and she felt the electricity run down her spine. She slowly lowered her hand, but Ferb's head was getting closer. And Isabella's head was getting closer. She just had the uncontrollable longing to. They were barely an inch away from each other. She and Ferb were about to kis…

"Isabella!"

Isabella's eyes flew open, and so did Ferb's. She realized that their faces had been so close, their noses had been touching.

"Isabella! Where are you?"

Ferb grunted, and aggressively pulled away from Isabella. "Phineas is calling you." And with that, he grabbed a shirt, threw it on, and walked out of the room.

Isabella just sat on his bed, sort of in shock. Then she got up, and left the room with a terrible new gnawing hunger in her. A hunger that she definitely could not explain, but a hunger that was definitely for Ferb.

* * *

**OMG! So are you guys liking it so far? Compelled to PM, review, or send me peach cobbler?**

**-Silver**


	13. The Dress

**Sorry for a longish wait for this chapter. I'm writing another story for the Suite Life (which you are welcome to read!) and this at the same time. Enjoy.**

**Hearts, Silver**

* * *

Isabella sat, curled up on her couch. She was staring blankly at the TV. It was flashing colors and releasing sounds, but she couldn't focus. Something was wrong. She had already deduced a little while ago that something between her and Phineas was off, and she had chosen to ignore it. But this time the problem wasn't Phineas. Something was wrong with her.

Of course, the problem still involved Phineas, and Ferb. Isabella could no longer bear to be in their house. The thought of it made her want to squirm. When she was in the same room as both of them, she felt awkward, and guilty, and sick. Extremely sick. And why was she like that? You'd think she would want to be with her dear friends, and future family. But the problem was that she didn't think of "friend" when she saw Ferb anymore. Or at least that wasn't the only thing she thought of.

Isabella felt a little sick already. She didn't know why but, Isabella was starting to feel extremely… attracted… to Ferb. And she just couldn't figure it out.

She had jumped back into his life with the initiative to be friends. But ever since she had played blackjack with him, Isabella felt as though she had a crush on him. Well, that wasn't quite the right word for it. She had a crush on Phineas. She had wanted them to do things like hold hands. But Isabella didn't just want to hold hands with Ferb. Let's just say her fantasies of Ferb were more "mature". The kind that would make her mother faint.

And honestly, it was kind of freaking her out. She felt awkward around Ferb, guilty around Phineas, and she was making herself nauseous. A couple of days ago, she had been going out of her way to avoid Phineas, but right now, she'd take him over Ferb any day. At least Phineas wasn't insightful enough to notice her real feelings.

As if on cue her phone began ringing. And look who was on the other line.

"Hi Phineas."

"Hey, Isabella. I have some wedding stuff to show you, at my house."

Isabella groaned. "Can you come over here?" She did not want to be in their house.

"No, it's a lot of stuff to bring. It's not like you live on the street, or something."

Isabella groaned again. "I'll be there in a few."

**X**

Phineas strolled down the line of napkins he was choosing from. "Ferb, which one do you like?"

Ferb shrugged. The house was a little messy right now. Wedding selections were everywhere, and Mom was going nuts. She wanted the house clean for when people started coming to stay there. The boys had apologized multiple times. They hadn't realized how messy their creations could get. When they built stuff in the backyard, it all went away like magic.

The doorbell rang, so Ferb went up to get it. He opened the door and saw Isabella standing there. He gave her a fairly bright smile. Ferb was becoming more and more confident around Isabella. Now that Phineas and Isabella were getting married, Ferb could just put aside all those kooky feelings, and just be a good friend to her.

But Isabella didn't look like she was happy to see a friend in the doorway. In fact she looked ill.

"H...he...hey Ferb." She said in a shaky voice.

Ferb stretched out an arm, welcoming her into the house. She attempted to walk by him, but the doorway was too small to fit two people, side by side. They ended up squished against each other, chest to chest.

Ferb couldn't help but smile again. He couldn't help but appreciate these little moments. It was God giving him just enough Isabella to help him get through this ordeal.

Isabella looked up at Ferb. He was smiling at her. And her entire chest was pushed against him and… oh god! A beet red Isabella scrambled her way into the house. Ferb closed the door.

"I'm here Phineas." Isabella said quietly. "Phineas?" She turned to look at Ferb. "Where is he?"

Ferb shrugged, but then they both heard Phineas from another room. He dashed in, excited.

"Guess what guys! I won that essay contest!" Phineas said.

They both moved to congratulate him. "That's so great Phineas." Isabella said. "What did you win?"

"I'm going to receive a check in Marshfield."

"Isn't that kind of far away from here?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to go there and stay for tonight." Phineas said.

"But what about all the wedding stuff?" Isabella asked very quietly. In the bottom of her heart, she really wanted it postponed until she could figure out her mess of feelings.

"Well, what I have left, I can do while I'm there. You only have to pick out your wedding dress." Phineas said.

"Oh my, I completely forgot about that! And I have to get it before all the guests start coming!" Isabella said.

"Why don't you bring someone to help you pick it? I know, take Ferb!" Phineas said.

Ferb pointed at himself, surprised. Meanwhile, Isabella was panicking a little. "Ferb, oh no, he doesn't have to do anything!"

"Why not? No one knows you better than Ferb." Phineas said, winking at Ferb.

"Yeah, I guess it's cool with me." Ferb said very casually.

Isabella took a big breath. "Ok Ferb."

**X**

"I'll never find the right one!" Isabella moaned, as she came out from behind the changing cloth yet again. She handed the dress she had been wearing to the bridal shop lady. She was quite little and old, but sweet.

"Oh dearie, we'll find one. I'm going to go find more in the back." And she trotted off.

Isabella turned towards Ferb, who was slowly looking through racks of dresses. She walked over to him. "Find anything nice?" she asked.

He smiled and turned to her. "It's your dress. You have to find it."

"No Ferb, these all either look awful on me, or they're just awful."

"Why don't you close your eyes, spin around, and find a dress?" He suggested.

Isabella scrunched up her eyes really tight, and spun in a circle. She kept her eyes shut as she wandered the store. She felt some fabric in her hands and opened her eyes.

"Oh Ferb, this isn't working, this dress isn't that pretty." She complained.

"How do you know? It could be perfect." He took it from her, and brought it to the changing room.

"No, I bet I can find something in this room more perfect for me than that dress. I'm trying again!" She giggled.

The dizzy, blind Isabella wandered again, hoping she wouldn't trip over anything. She suddenly felt some fabric. It had a nice comfortable touch.

"Wait, Isabel…" she heard Ferb say, and she felt herself trip and fall over, on to the ground. "Congratulations." Ferb said.

Isabella groaned from the ground. She opened her eyes and found she was staring into Ferb's. "You found me."

They both got up, brushing themselves off. "Okay, that was embarrassing." Said Isabella. "What did I do?"

"You grabbed my shirt instead of a dress, tripped, and dragged us both to the ground." Ferb chuckled. "Now will you try on what you picked before?"

She sighed and went to try it on. "I don't know Ferb."

"Just let me see it."

Isabella came out. It wasn't amazing or the greatest thing he had ever seen, but something about it suited her.

"The sleeves are too long and hot for summer, and it's really boring." She complained.

"So let's fix it." Ferb said. "If you liked my Summer All The Time design, maybe I can spruce this one up."

He examined the dress, and began muttering to himself. He traced patterns using his finger like a pencil on Isabella's arms, sides, and collarbone. Isabella couldn't help it. She let out a little breathy moan. Ferb stopped what he was doing and stared at her.

"Aww!" The bridal shop lady suddenly said, appearing from nowhere. "You two will probably have the perfect marriage."

Isabella and Ferb sprung away from each other. "Oh he's not… I mean we're not… I mean I am… but not with him…" Isabella sputtered.

Ferb was looking just as nervous. "Um, she'll get this one."

They paid and scampered out of the shop as fast as possible.

"So… what about my dress?" Isabella awkwardly asked.

"How about I take it, mess with it a little, and then you come to our house to pick it up?"

"Ok."

"Ok."

* * *

**2 things: tell me if I have any typos so I can fix them, and please review!**


	14. The Realization

**Author's note: Hey duckies! The other day I was browsing fanart, and there is some amazing Ferbella stuff. So if you readers know anybody at all who can make an awesome cover for this story, I'd really appreciate it. I'll say it now though, I'll only use it if it's amazing. So anyway, enjoy this chapter. Es muy importante. I was so excited about it I might have made typos. **

**Love from Silver**

* * *

Isabella yawned and shook her hair out of the sloppy ponytail it had been in. It was getting pretty dark outside already. She felt a little guilty. There must be some wedding related stuff she should be doing, but she felt really lazy right now. Pretty much all she had done was lay around the house after coming back from the bridal shop. Phineas had already left for Marshfield, and wouldn't be back till tomorrow afternoon.

And she was right back in the same position she had been in before she went to the Flynn-Fletcher's. The TV was on to the weather channel. She hadn't initially been interested, but it looked like there was going to be a thunderstorm tonight. That was okay. Isabella had liked falling asleep to the serenity of raindrops. She had liked it even more when she jumped into bed after emailing Phineas. Maybe he would email from Marshfield. She doubted it.

But if it was going to rain and it was already getting dark, driving was going to be a pain. She might as well go get her dress now, before it started. Ferb must be done with it by now. The boys always knew how to work fast.

Isabella grabbed her purse, her keys, and threw on some shoes. "Mami, I'm going to Ferb's house! Don't know when I'll be back!" she hollered.

"Alright, mija, be careful out there!"

Isabella got into the car and started driving to the house. It really looked awful out. Everything was gray and black and lifeless. This was a stay-in-your-pajamas-and-watch-movies-for-hours kind of day, not a drive-in-the-rain-to-make-a-fool-of-yourself-in-front-of-your-fiance's-brother-who-you-may-have-unexplained-feelings-for kind of day.

Isabella was about to park in the driveway, like usual, when she saw Linda's car coming out of the garage. She parked on the side of the road, and headed towards the open garage quickly. Those gray clouds were threatening to burst.

As Isabella walked by the car, Linda rolled down her window. "Hello Isabella." She said.

"Mrs. Flynn, is this a bad time? I just came to get something from Ferb."

"Oh, no honey. I'm going to a volunteering project for several hours though."

"And Ferb?" Isabella tentatively asked.

"Oh, he just ducked over to the Van Stomm's for something. He should be back in a few minutes."

"Would you mind letting me in the house to wait for him?"

"Of course not. Just head in through the garage, I'll shut the door."

Isabella made the move to go inside when Linda called her back. "Isabella, honey, one second!"

"Yes?" She asked.

"Ferb left this in here when he took the car, but it says 'For Isabella' on it."

Isabella looked at the box Linda had given her and opened it up. Fudge. Isabella couldn't help but smile. But she felt a little confused. Why would Ferb get her fudge? And how did he know she liked it so much?

"Ok, Isabella, get inside, it looks like it's gonna rain" Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher said.

So Isabella walked in the house, as the garage door loudly shut. It was kind of dark, as she walked through the halls. Well, at least they aren't wasting electricity, she thought. But there was something really creepy about being in another family's home without any of them present. Maybe I should just go wait in Ferb's room, she thought. Of course, last time she had waited alone in Ferb's room, she had looked like a creep trying to catch him coming out of the shower. But that wouldn't happen this time. Anyway, going to Ferb's room would be the best place to find her dress.

With that thought to inspire her, Isabella dashed up the stairs and to his room. She saw it, right there, hanging on a hook on his closet door. It was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! She was dying to try it on, right then and there, but she was afraid she might ruin it. She should at least wait for Ferb.

She laid it down on the bed and stared at it. She took a small piece of fudge from the box and tried it. It was really good, and Isabella had the suspicion that Ferb had made it himself. Just like the dress.

The longer she looked at the dress the more it reminded her of something. A present, or… a card. It looked like a birthday card she had gotten once. From Phineas. Well, Ferb probably helped him.

Now Isabella felt like something was bothering her about her wedding dress. However, she still loved it. She couldn't help herself; she picked it up and swirled around the room with it, like a little girl. However, a gleam caught her eye. She gently put the dress down on bed again and turned towards it. It was Ferb's laptop, turned to some screensaver. She gently lifted the top, and the screensaver abruptly ended, leaving Ferb's screen open to a webpage.

It would be wrong for her to snoop through his stuff. But it looked like it was just his email. Ferb wouldn't be doing anything scandalous over email, right? Still, this was private. She turned away from the computer when something new caught her eye. An email… from Isabella.

Now that couldn't be right. Isabella had never emailed Ferb. Did the boys know another Isabella?

Now Isabella's interest was peaked. She knew it was wrong but… she sat down at Ferb's chair and looked at the laptop. Every email was from Isabella! Some part of her was jealous of this chick. A big part. So she clicked one and read it.

Isabella wasn't sure what happened after that. Because the email was the exact same one she had sent when she told Phineas she was coming back. And this was Phineas' email address! Or…

* * *

Dear Isabella, we had a field trip today… to the Danville Meat Packing Industry warehouse. What kind of teacher takes innocent-minded seventh grade students to a glorified butcher shop? As soon as we stepped in there, I almost gagged at the smell. Then the hairy-lipped women guiding us began talking about everything that happens in the meat packing process. I couldn't believe it. Those poor cows, and pigs, and sheep. That's it; from now on I'm a vegetarian. I'm swearing by it.

From Phineas

* * *

_"Vegetarian? I think you're talking about Fer-OOF!"_

* * *

Dear Isabella, the attachment is a birthday card I designed for you. It may not be physical paper, but I think it came out well. I had a lot of fun designing it. By the way, happy 14th birthday!

From Phineas

* * *

_It looked like a birthday card she had gotten once. From Phineas._

* * *

Dear Isabella, you seemed kind of sad in your last email, despite your parents' festivities. Don't worry about relationships yet; we're only fifteen. I don't want to have to fly to Alaska to beat the pulp out of the first guy who breaks your heart. And if you ever want some fudge, I can always send you some.

From Phineas

* * *

_Isabella looked at the box Linda had given her and opened it up. Fudge._

* * *

Dear Isabella, I'm shocked that you think we would be able to get away with building a casino. We live in a family community. As for the game, I have come across it. The object of the game is to get to twenty-one points, or have the highest score under twenty-one. Face cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks) are counted as ten points. The player and dealer can count his own ace as 1-point or 11 points. It's not a game where you play against others; you're up against the dealer, and if you lose, you're to blame. It's a little like a metaphor for life actually. There might be more rules, but remember, all you need to do is catch 21.

Love Phineas

* * *

_Ferb pretended to think for a moment, then smiled mischievously and said "Blackjack."_

* * *

Isabella's eyes were as wide as saucers. All she could do was stare at the laptop blankly. She could hear the thunder and raindrops pounding outside, but she barely noticed. Only one sound registered as she stared at the laptop.

"Isabella," Ferb said, "What are you doing?"


	15. Ferb Exposed

**Hey guys, I just want to thank everyone for reading. The response to the last chapter was the best ever! So I apologize that this one is a little short. And also it's, umm *cough* a little inappropriate. Well this is a "T" story. Love, Silver**

* * *

He had seen her car when he got back home. He had also noticed that Mom's car was missing. But when he got inside, the house was totally dark. It hadn't seemed like Isabella was even in the house. But she obviously had been, because she was in his room, on his laptop right now.

"Isabella," Ferb said, "What are you doing?"

Her back was turned to him, but he could see she was shaking. She whispered something he could barely catch. "It was you."

And with those words Ferb knew what had happened. What Isabella had seen on his laptop. And he knew that his ruse was about to be torn down in a split second. In fact, it already had been.

But he chose to play dumb. "Pardon?" he said.

Isabella whipped around to face him. Ferb could see tears in her eyes, ready to fall. "It was you!" she screamed. "Wasn't it?" she said, in a softer voice.

Ferb hung his head.

Isabella began breathing heavily. "I can't believe it! Phineas has never seen any of these, has he? Phineas never emailed me! It was you the entire time!" Isabella began to scream at Ferb again. And those tears were falling. "Why Ferb? Why did you lie to me? You and Phineas! Did you think it was funny or something?" she sobbed.

That line Ferb could not take quietly. "Of course not!" he yelled back at her. "We would never try to hurt you Isabella."

"Well, guess what Ferb, if that's even your name, you did." She said coldly. She wiped a tear from her cheek. "I guess I know why you never emailed me now."

"Do you want to know why I did this, Isabella?" Ferb said quietly. "The entire time, I knew it was wrong to lie to you. I knew it! But I did it because I had to! You never wanted Ferb, you only wanted Phineas! That's all you ever wanted!" Ferb felt himself releasing all the frustration he had been holding inside since the moment Isabella left. "So I gave you Phineas! I just wanted to make you happy! And obviously it worked! Because the moment you came back, what was the first thing you noticed? Phineas! And who was the one that you flew by, without a second look? Me."

Isabella couldn't stop crying at this point. "But that's because I thought Phineas was the one who was writing to me! Thinking about me! Loving me! And I was only in love with the man who wrote me those letters! AND… IT… WAS… YOU!"

Isabella and Ferb both stopped dead and stared at each other. A whole new realization had just occurred. And neither knew what to do or say about it.

The silence was only punctuated by Isabella's quiet sniffles. Ferb grabbed a tissue and offered it to Isabella. But instead of taking the tissue, she grabbed Ferb's whole hand and pulled him close to her. A startled Ferb looked down and met her eyes.

"I've been in love with my pen pal from the second I got the first email from him." Ferb saw a certain emotion in Isabella's eyes, but couldn't place it. "I'm in love with YOU, Ferb. Helplessly in love. And now that I have you, I'm never going to let you go." And now Ferb recognized what he was seeing. Lust.

Isabella wrapped her arms around Ferb's long neck and pulled him to meet her lips. She was probably the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. He gently kissed her back, but clearly Isabella did not want gentle.

She vigorously kissed him back, pushing herself against him, and nibbling at his lips. She was weaving her hands in and out of his green hair, pulling, and grabbing, and just plain messing it up.

Ferb could barely stand the way Isabella was throwing herself on him. They both fell down onto his bed. Isabella continued to eagerly kiss him, moving to kiss his ears and neck. Meanwhile, she was running her hands down his shirt, unbuttoning as fast as she could. Before Ferb knew it, the shirt was being flung from the bed.

"It's even better seeing you shirtless the second time." She seductively giggled in his ear.

Ferb felt totally overwhelmed. One minute she was screaming at him, the next she was reenacting his wildest fantasies in front of him. This didn't make sense. He was a liar. And he was about two seconds from losing control and doing something they would both regret.

Ferb sat up against the headboard and attempted to stop Isabella. But she jumped onto his lap and continued kissing him. And by now her dress was off.

"Isabella…" he began.

"I love you." She moaned in his ear. The very words he had been desperate to hear. "I love you Ferb." Well, he had been even more desperate to hear those. Ferb was going to lose it. He was only human! And seeing Isabella like this… "I want you Ferb. I really want you."

He lost it. The only other things he heard that night was the creaking of his bed, and Isabella moaning his name, over and over and over.


	16. The Morning After

Though it was summer, it was sort of cold. And it was windy… very windy. Ferb didn't really care. He just kept running.

Ferb wasn't sure how long he had been running. He had already gone around the Metropolitan Oval Aquatic Trench multiple times. His legs were burning and his lips were getting chapped, but he didn't care. He just zipped his navy blue sweatshirt up higher and continued.

It was cold because of how early it was. Ferb had just caught the sunrise. But it just didn't seem very special. Nothing would seem as beautiful as Isabella had, rosy cheeks gently lying on his pillow, that morning.

It was only then, at maybe five or earlier in the morning, did he realize the severity of the situation. Realize what consequences that one night of abandon would bring. So Ferb did what any coward would do; he ran.

And there he was. All of his muscles were in pain, but he didn't care. He deserved it. He was about as lowdown as a human being could get. He was a filthy scoundrel who had shamelessly lied to the girl of his dreams, and who had now slept with his brother's fiancé. Maybe he should run all the way to England. Grandma and Grandpa wouldn't care; they were on their way here for the wedding. He could use their house. Or maybe he could invent a way to breathe underwater and go jump in a lake.

But Ferb knew he couldn't do anything. Which is why he was just running around town. To any passersby, he would simply look like a guy exercising. He just had no idea what to do! Phineas was going to be back today. Family members were going to start arriving today. Ferb would give an arm and a leg to erase what he had done.

And yet, he wouldn't. Because a miniscule part of Ferb was beating his fists on his chest and fiercely enjoying the fact that he had won Isabella from Phineas. And an enormous part of Ferb was ecstatic because _she loved him too_. Isabella was in love with him. And considering how she acted last night, she was REALLY in love with him.

But no matter how much guilt or joy had been spawned from last night, there was simply no solution. There was going to be a wedding in a week. Ferb would sooner kill Phineas than allow him to marry Isabella, and Ferb would sooner kill himself than hurt Phineas.

Ferb leaned over, hands on his knees, panting. Oh, what was he going to do!? He glanced at his watch. It was almost eight. No wonder everything had been getting brighter.

He had to go home and face the music. He had no idea what would be waiting for him there. Would it be Phineas? Would it be Isabella? Would it be his entire family freaking out after they found Isabella in his room? Would actual music be involved? Ferb had no idea. Around here, you never knew. But he knew he had to do it. So he turned and ran home.

He made it back in pretty good time. But every part of him was hurting. He just made it inside when he heard someone call his name.

"Ferb!" Phineas said, bouncing over to him like a little girl. "Morning, bro!"

Ferb faintly raised his hand in a slight wave.

"Missed me?" Phineas asked. "Of course you did!" He said before Ferb could respond. "Here, I got bagels!" He tossed one over to Ferb. "Let's go outside and talk!"

Phineas sure is in a good mood, thought Ferb. That only made him feel twice as guilty. They both walked out to the backyard and sat under the tree like they used to.

"Wow, been a while since we did this, huh?" Phineas said.

Ferb nodded, as he munched on a bagel. He was feeling really bad about betraying Phineas right now, but Phineas was looking guilty as well.

"Dude, I'm really sorry I haven't given this summer my all. I really meant to in the beginning. But then with Isabella and all…" Phineas sighed. "I'm an awful brother."

Ferb felt like he was going to choke on his bagel. Or on the irony.

"I love my entire family, and all my friends. But you and Isabella are especially important to me. I know I haven't always been the most attentive guy. But I promise that from now on I am going to pay attention. I'm going to give my marriage 1000% and our brotherhood 1001%." Phineas solemnly said.

Ferb knew what the proper thing to do was. There was no way he would ever hurt Phineas. Phineas would always be by his side and Phineas would treat Isabella like the angel she was. As far as everyone knew, last night, and everything that had happened between him and Isabella, had never occurred. And that's all they would ever know.

"Um, Phineas," Ferb said. "I'm going to go upstairs and shower. You know, since I went running and all."

"Yeah, sure." Phineas said, with a smile. "I'm gonna stay out here a little longer." He looked up lovingly at the tree.

That was fine with Ferb. He practically ran inside and upstairs. It looked like Mom and Dad were still asleep. To keep it that way, he snuck quietly to his room, and went inside, shutting the door behind him.

Ferb walked over and sat next to the bed's occupant. She was still sweetly slumbering there, almost with a smile on her face as she slept. Ferb sighed, and ran his thumb lovingly over her cheek. His Snow White, or his Sleeping Beauty. His Isabella. The Ace's Queen, which he was willing to give up for his brother. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

Isabella slowly began stirring, and her eyes flickered open. She yawned, and opened them wider. "Hi Ferb." She said sweetly, the same way she had when they re-met.

She was the loveliest thing he had ever seen. He was ridiculously in love with this girl. Ferb was wondering if he really would be able to live with giving her up.

She sat up, stretching her arms up in the air, yawning again. The blanket was sinking a little and she had nothing on underneath it. Ferb didn't need to look though. He had seen every inch of her last night. He no longer needed to pray for seconds with Isabella. He had experienced a magical night of pure love with her, and now he was completely ready to hand her off to his brother.

"Oh, it's morning already." Isabella said, peeking out the window.

"Yes." Said Ferb "So you need to change and go."

"Yeah," she said. She scooted closer to Ferb, took his hand, and gently began stroking it. "You coming down with me?"

"Actually, I was going to go shower."

"All by yourself? Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" she seductively asked.

"Umm," Ferb stammered. "No, that's not necessary."

Isabella pouted. "Ok." But then her face turned serious. "Have you thought about what to do?"

Ferb nodded solemnly. We had our night of bliss, now back to the order of the real world, he thought.

Isabella sighed. "This is going to be so tough. And awkward. I mean, how are we going to tell them?"

Ferb stared at her. "Tell who?"

"Well, Phineas, for starters, obviously. And our parents; that one might be awkward. I'm pretty sure the troop won't be so hard, but that Adyson better not spread lies! I wonder how the guys will react, because…"

"WHAT are you talking about Isabella?" said Ferb.

"Hello? Telling everyone that we're in love with each other!" Isabella answered.

Ferb's eyes were wide. This whole time, all he had been thinking of was whether he would rather have Isabella or Phineas. Never once had it crossed his mind that the decision wasn't solely up to him anymore. And his other half had chosen a totally opposite way to go.

* * *

**Well, guys, what happens next? Well, I totally know. Tee hee. But do you have any predictions? Tell me what you predict, like, love, hate, loathe, etc. in a review please!**

**Luv, Silver**


	17. Sacrifices

Isabella felt like giggling or dancing. She felt like getting up and skipping around the room. She felt all giddy and goofy inside. In short, she felt amazing.

The awful gnawing desperate hunger for Ferb was gone. Because now she had Ferb. Isabella didn't know why she hadn't realized he was the one for her before. All the signs had been there. Not only evidence that he had written the emails to her, but other things. There had been emotional feelings for him whenever they had spoken. She had been extremely physically attracted to him. Never did Isabella once imagine that she would ever be the oblivious one, but obviously she had been.

Not like that mattered now. She and Ferb were together. And this felt right. Nothing felt wrong or off. Being with Ferb, even for one night, made being with Phineas look like a joke. She felt bad that Phineas might get hurt, and that all this wedding fuss would be for nothing, but she would never be able to live with being married to someone she wasn't in love with. Not now, when she knew her true love was right here.

Here, on the bed, right next to her. They had been talking about what to do, but now Ferb was just kind of staring with a worried expression. He must be thinking about something, she thought. But honestly, she was really dying to knock him out of his thought, get under his sheets, and enjoy a whole lot more Ferb. Or accompany him to his proposed shower.

Man, since when had her mind become so dirty? It was probably because Isabella had spent years pining for one man, and one alone. And Ferb had a lot of time to make up.

Isabella slid even closer to Ferb and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around him, totally losing herself in the kiss. He was slightly sweaty, but she didn't care. All she felt was him kissing her back.

She pulled away slowly. "Oh Ferb." She said softly. She smiled at him, but Ferb looked very troubled. "So what were you thinking about? Got a brilliant Ferb-ish plan to break the news? You seem upset."

"Isabella," Ferb said with a pained expression, "You do know that this was a one-time thing right?"

It was as if someone had slapped her afterglow away. "What?"

Ferb didn't want to speak, but right now he had to. "We made love. And I don't regret it!" he emphasized, "But, in a week, you're going to get married to Phineas."

"What?" Isabella bleated. "But how can I marry Phineas?"

"Phineas loves you. He really loves you. You're the most important person to him. Trust me, I know. He has never ever acted like this with any other girl. Everyone in Danville knew Phineas would fall for you."

"But I don't love Phineas! I love you!" Isabella was crying again.

"No," Ferb shook his head, "You love Phineas. You only wrote to me because you thought I was him. You said yes to his proposal."

"No, Ferb, I, I didn't mean to! I already doubted our relationship! Please!" Isabella cried.

"Phineas will treat you like a queen. You'll be happy together." Ferb could barely get that sentence out.

"How do you expect me to be happy Ferb, married to a man I do not love? How do you expect Phineas to be happy, with a wife who doesn't even love him?" Isabella yelled.

Ferb turned and got off the bed, keeping his face turned from Isabella.

"Ferb Fletcher, what cards do you hold? What can you do to keep me from making Phineas' life a living hell after we're married?" Isabella said bitterly.

Ferb angrily turned towards her. "There is no way that could happen! I would never let it!"

"Oh, yeah? What's to stop me from going down and telling everyone what we just did?" Isabella said, as she got up and out of Ferb's bed.

Ferb instinctively covered his eyes with his hand to block Isabella's naked body.

Isabella felt tears rapidly falling again. "Look at me! Damn it, Ferb, look at me! Mr. Ferb Fletcher, 'the gentleman', huh? You didn't seem to mind seeing my body last night!"

Isabella began hunting around the room for her clothing, crying and swearing under her breath. She aggressively began pulling them on.

"There, I'm decent." She spat.

Ferb lowered his hand.

"Happy? Well, good, 'cause I'm leaving."

Ferb rushed in front of the doorway.

"Move Ferb." She said threateningly.

Ferb shook his head no.

"Move Ferb!" She yelled. Isabella weakly beat her fists again Ferb's chest, but every hit got weaker, and with each one, her silent crying increased. "Move…"

Ferb pulled her against him, and wrapped his arms around her. Isabella began crying into Ferb's chest.

Ferb gently rubbed her back. "It'll be ok."

"But I love you." She whispered.

"What happens in great love stories, Isabella? Sacrifices have to be made. Kingdoms go to war, and lovers die for each other. We're sacrificing our love for something more important; friendship. Our friendship with Phineas."

Isabella lifted her head. She had a dark expression on her face. "Ok, Ferb. I'll marry Phineas. I'll make this sacrifice. But I'm not going to alone."

Ferb moved away from the door, as Isabella silently left. He watched from the window making sure that nobody saw her leave the house and get into her car. After it had left, Ferb flopped onto the bed, with just one thing on his mind. What did Isabella mean?

* * *

**Dun dun DUN! She's not going to alone? What does that mean?**

**This was a very angsty and dramatic chapter. I hope you could all choke it down. Anyway, a round of applause to TheCartoonFanatic01 and BlytheHasFreckles for the closest predictions. Actually, a round of applause to all my awesome reviewers.**

**L...o...v...e...(still clapping), Silver**


	18. Turning Tables

Six days, Ferb thought. They're going to get married in six days. Six days were nothing. They could sweep by before you even knew it. It was just another testament to how quickly life went by. Only weeks ago, he had been his normal, totally content self. He had been building with the guys, he had been looking forward to the summer, and the most he had been doing with Isabella was emailing her.

Ferb wished he could go back to that. As much as he loved Isabella, part of him hated her. She had never been very nice to him, always preferring Phineas. And she had always been selfish, thinking of her needs before anyone else. She may no longer prefer Phineas; but now she was prepared to crush his heart. And Ferb could not, would not, let that happen.

But Isabella was right; he had no cards. He had nothing. He was going to lose the game to Isabella. She could easily tell everyone what had happened in a second. And though she hadn't yet, the one thing haunting his mind was what she had said to him yesterday, with that dark look on her face. She wasn't going to make this sacrifice alone.

Ferb's cell phone, loudly ringing, snapped him out of his thoughts. It was Isabella. This was the first time either of them had attempted to contact each other since yesterday. Since they slept together. Since their fight.

Ferb didn't want to answer, but he did. "Hello."

"Hey, Ferb." Isabella sounded strangely perky. "What's up? You busy today?" She took his silence as a no. "I want you to meet me at that coffee place, Steam Noir."

"Isabella," he hissed, "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, Ferbie." She cooed, "I just want you to meet me for some coffee. Nothing suspicious about that. So you better be there. Got it? Good. Bye!" And the line went dead.

What was she doing? Did she want them to go on a date? This wasn't the greatest plan he had ever heard. Why did she want him to go there? Ferb's better judgment was arguing against going, but he so badly wanted to be with Isabella. They only had six days left. And having coffee wasn't necessarily a date. Everyone knew they were friends. So Ferb got up, got dressed, and headed for the coffee shop.

Once he got there, he went inside cautiously. He saw Isabella, sitting at one of the tables, waving to him. She was wearing a fluffy, but light, pink sweater, and her black hair was in one shiny ponytail, resting on her shoulder. Ferb sighed. She looked so pretty. He was going to have to kick his self-control into overdrive. He wasn't even going to let himself flirt with Isabella. She needed to get it into her head that no matter what, they could not be together.

Ferb sat down next to Isabella. "Hey there." She said. "Do you want some coffee?"

Ferb shook his head. "Isabella, why are we here?"

Isabella said nothing; instead she took out a long tube, and began applying lip-gloss to her lips, going slowly on purpose. Ferb clenched his teeth. He wasn't sure what was bothering him more. The fact that she was ignoring him, or the fact that he couldn't kiss those lips.

"Isabella!"

"Oops, sorry! It's just, sometimes you're so quiet, no one knows you're there." She said, spitefully.

Ferb scowled, "Isabella, I'm leaving."

"But Ferb, wait, don't you want to know why I called you here?" She said.

"I already know! You're trying to get some kind of sick pleasure out of this 'date', aren't you? Well, I don't care, because this is never going to happen!" Ferb yelled.

"Wow, that might be the longest, and loudest, thing I've ever heard you say Ferb." Ferb heard a voice behind him say.

Ferb turned around slowly. Standing behind him was a petite girl. She was wearing jeans and a soft green shirt, over her small, gentle curves. She had small blue sparkly eyes, with glasses over them. She had short, shiny, auburn hair, and a cute little smile. She waved to him.

Ferb could only stare, dumbfounded, as she skipped around him, and sat down next to Isabella. The girls smiled at each other. What was going on?

"Ferb, you remember Gretchen, don't you?" said Isabella.

Ferb nodded, the confused look still on his face. Once Isabella had left, the guys hadn't really hung out with the Fireside girls. But they had been in the same classes occasionally. Still, Ferb hadn't seen Gretchen since high school. She had grown up very pretty. But why was she here?

"So Ferb, how have you been?" Gretchen asked.

Ferb shrugged.

"Come on Ferb, be more chatty." Said Isabella. "Ferb is the mechanical genius behind Phineas' and Ferb's contraptions."

"Yeah, I know. I have an interest in that as well. I studied physics in college extensively." Said Gretchen.

"Oh really," said Ferb, interested. "So did you like our rollercoaster?"

"A lot. I was just telling the chief here about how I had always wanted to do more things like that for our fundraisers."

Isabella smiled, and put her hands on Gretchen's shoulders. "Gretch is the genius behind most of the Fireside girl escapades."

"Really? Because most of what you girls do is quite impressive. All you need is a little…"

"Teamwork!" Gretchen and Ferb said at the same time. They both started to laugh.

"Sorry, Ferb, Iz, I just have to run to the restroom." Said Gretchen, as she got up and left.

Isabella saw Ferb still smiling, and smiled herself. "So, you like Gretchen?"

"Yeah, she's really cool and… why do you care if I like Gretchen?" Ferb said, suspiciously.

"Because you're going to marry her." Isabella said, nonchalantly.

"WHAT?" said Ferb, getting up out of his seat.

Isabella pulled him back down. "Stop it, you're making a scene."

"What do you mean I'm marrying Gretchen?"

"Oh, not right now Ferb. I'm thinking in maybe a month."

"That did not answer my question."

Isabella's eyes narrowed. "Ferb, you expect me to live my entire life married to a man I know I am not in love with. So now I expect you to do the same with Gretchen."

Ferb opened his mouth in protest.

"Oh, Ferb does that upset you? Because we could always tell Phineas the truth." Isabella said cunningly.

Ferb shut his mouth. Isabella thought she had him trapped, didn't she? He was not going to, nor would he ever, crush Phineas' heart.

"She's really attractive." Ferb said. "And smart. Probably the smartest girl I've ever met." He emphasized. "I think I would love being married to Gretchen." Isabella stared at him in surprise. Ferb smiled to himself. "I would love it."

At that moment, Gretchen returned to the table. Ferb stood up. "Gretchen, would you like to come for a walk with me?"

Gretchen seemed pleasantly surprised. "Yes, yes I would."

"After you." He said. Gretchen headed towards the door.

Ferb turned back around towards the stunned Isabella. She had her mouth opened in surprise, or horror. He didn't know which. He took one finger, put it under her chin, and shut her mouth.

The tables were turning. Phineas wasn't the villain anymore; he was the damsel in distress. Isabella wasn't just Ferb's love interest, she was also his opponent. And if he played his cards just right, he might be able to beat her at her own game.

* * *

**Ferbetchen! I honestly have no idea where this came from... unlike Ferbella, Ferbnessa, and most of the other couples people write, this one has no real support from the show. But now it's in my story... hmm. Ha, and now Isabella is the "villain", because I honestly hate her. PHINEAS IS MINE! But will Ferb be able to beat his girl, and get the girl at the same time? Please review, PM, or both. **

**Kisses from Silver**


	19. Double Date

**Guys, I'm so sick. I need some mucus-be-gone. But I'm still writing. Would my lovely readers care to get this story to 100 reviews? I would totally freak out! 'Cept I can't scream, my throat is sore.**

* * *

Aahh! Isabella collapsed face-first onto her bed. She felt her ponytail flip to the side. She angrily sat up and ripped the hair tie out, letting her hair go free. What was the point in dressing up? She aggressively wiped the lip-gloss she was wearing on her sweater, leaving an oily stain across the sleeve. Isabella didn't care. It didn't matter. There was no point in trying to look nice, because Ferb obviously didn't care. She felt a tear running down her cheek. She buried her face in the pillow once more.

Of course this plan wasn't going to work. Ferb had already made it pretty clear that he had chosen Phineas. It was possible that she would have chosen Phineas too, if she were in his position. Isabella didn't want to hurt Phineas; it would be like kicking an innocent puppy.

But she was getting hurt as well. And in her desperation, she had turned to some sort of diabolical scheme to make Ferb hurt too. Maybe if Ferb knew what it felt like to be forced into a marriage with no love, he would understand how she was feeling. But Ferb and Gretchen seemed to have hit it off. And why not? They were a pretty good match. Maybe she was too good at matchmaking.

And she was only chasing Ferb away. She had been angry. She had been bitchy. Ferb was obviously upset with her. Her tears wouldn't stop falling. She was such a crybaby, but she couldn't help it. The thought of Ferb being with Gretchen, marrying Gretchen, falling in love with Gretchen, only made her feel worse.

At least if that happened, Gretchen would be happy. Isabella was using her, and now she was using Gretchen against herself. Ferb and Gretchen had never called her after they left. This was the stupidest plan Isabella had ever thought of! If things kept going like this, everyone except her would be happy.

She sniffed loudly. She needed some cheering up right now. Gretchen, her second-in-command, had always been in charge of that. Ferb, her secret Prince Charming, had always been in charge of that. But she didn't have them right now. Who else was there?

Isabella reached for her phone, and listened until he picked up. She cleared her throat so he wouldn't know she had been crying. "Phineas?"

"Hey Isabella. What's up?"

She smiled to herself. She may no longer love Phineas, but at least he would always be her friend. "Nothing."

"Well, guess what's going on here! Guess! Guess!" He excitedly said. He didn't give her any time to answer. "Ferb has a girlfriend!"

Isabella almost burst out into tears again, but she held them in.

"Hello? Isabella? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah. He does? How… cool." She choked out.

"Isabella, are you alright?" Phineas said, sounding concerned.

"I'm… fine." She couldn't talk; those darn tears were falling again. Maybe Phineas should just talk for a while. "Tell me more. Is it…" She took a big breath, "Someone we know?

"Yeah, it's Gretchen. See, I caught them walking up to the house talking. Obviously they were coming from some kind of date. So once she left, I confronted Ferb. He said it was nothing, but that totally means they like each other!" Phineas rambled like a teenage girl.

Isabella wondered how accurate that was. Phineas was the least romantic guy she knew. Was he jumping to conclusions based on his limited knowledge, or was he being oblivious, and understating a possible love story?

"But, Ferb and Gretchen can both be kind of shy and quiet sometimes. Even more than I thought, because I figured Gretchen might have told you. You are pretty good friends." Phineas said.

Gretchen. Gretchen was my selected pawn to sacrifice, Isabella thought. I'm far from her good friend.

"So anyway, because they can get shy, I was thinking we should go on a double date tomorrow. That way they have us to bounce off of."

Isabella felt like screaming I DON'T WANNA! But she couldn't. It could still be possible that Ferb had no real feelings for Gretchen, and that he wanted to tell Phineas everything. It could still be possible.

**X**

This was so stupid. Phineas had picked a fancy seafood restaurant, with a beach view. The key word there was fancy. Isabella was in some lavender evening dress she had dug out of her closet. It was way too tight all the way down her body, and once it got to her feet, it turned into this big puff of lace. She felt ridiculous, and she couldn't walk. Of all the places to come to! She had purposely worn no jewelry, and had her hair down, completely unstyled. Her makeup was pretty sloppy, and she felt like a fool. She would have rather come in sweats.

She was sitting at the table grumpily when the other three came in. Phineas and Ferb were both wearing suits, and they looked quite handsome. Gretchen had gently curled the ends of her hair, and her makeup was perfect. Her dress was green silk, with a long slit up the leg. Not only did it make her look sexy, it made it easy for her to walk.

Isabella was upset. Gretchen looked about a thousand times better than her. That annoyed her to no end. And the worst thing was that Gretchen's appearance meant she was trying hard to look nice, unlike Isabella. She wanted to impress Ferb.

"Isabella, since when did you become the early one? You always get here before everybody." Phineas joked.

Isabella said nothing, just looking away grumpily.

"The early bird catches the worm, chief." Gretchen said.

"Yeah," Phineas responded, "And how come Gretchen still calls you chief? I can't even get Ferb to give me gum." He joked.

Ferb rolled his eyes.

"Oh, hold on," said Gretchen, as she reached into her bag for something. "Here you go." She chirpily gave Phineas a piece of gum.

"Awesome." He said.

Gretchen offered a piece to Ferb. He began to refuse, when Isabella interrupted.

"Isn't this place a little high-end for gum-chewing, Gretch? Put it away!" She demanded. Minutes ago, she had been playing games on her phone, waiting for everybody else. I am such a hypocrite, Isabella thought.

She had her arms grumpily crossed. Isabella was jealous! She was extremely jealous. How could she have been so stupid to agree to this double date? No one even went on double dates anymore! There were about a million things she should be upset about right now; her wedding plans, her secret romance, her annoyance with Phineas! But the only thing she was upset about was that Gretchen had offered her Ferb gum. Isabella looked over to Gretch; she was still chatting with Phineas.

"Gretchen, you rock. How do you stay so efficient and organized? I mean, all these wedding things have me all over the place." Phineas said.

"Well, it's tough to try to do everything, Phineas. I'm just naturally a planner. I kind of need a 'spur of the moment' person with me, like Isabella. Or somebody like you." Said Gretchen.

Isabella tugged on Ferb's sleeve. "Come with me for a sec." she whispered.

Ferb tilted his head towards the other two.

"They'll be fine; they're busy talking."

So Ferb slipped out of his seat, and began walking towards the bathroom area. Isabella took a little longer. She struggled to get up and out with her stupid dress. She made it over to the corner, grumbling.

Ferb looked at her, waiting for her to begin talking.

Isabella wasn't sure what she wanted to say. "Are you and Gretchen dating?"

Ferb shrugged.

"Do you like Gretchen?" She said fearfully. "I know I already asked you, but…" She saw Phineas' head turning towards them. No! She grabbed Ferb's arm and pulled him into the restroom.

Several men in the bathroom shouted in surprise as the two walked in.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a girl! So either get out, or shut up!" Isabella growled. The fancily dressed men rushed out of the bathroom, upset.

Ferb turned towards Isabella. "What's the matter with you?" He said it in a knowing tone, not an angry one.

"You and Gretchen!" She blurted out. "You like her, don't you? She's prettier, and smarter! You even told me you guys would be perfect together!"

Ferb sighed, "I thought that's what you wanted, Isabella. I'm not going to back down. I can sacrifice just as much as you."

"No, because I matched you up with your soul mate! That doesn't equate to a sacrifice." She knew the awful truth of what she was saying. She wanted him to be just as miserable as her.

"I could say the same thing about you and Phineas." Ferb said.

"Ferb…" Isabella whispered, in horror. He was going to go through with it.

Ferb let out a heavy sigh, "Isabella, I'm doing what you asked." And with that he left the bathroom.

Isabella gripped onto the counter to keep herself from falling. He was going to marry Gretchen. He had chosen Phineas over her.

"He… he doesn't love me." Isabella gasped. She ran though every email, every conversation she had ever had with Ferb. Since before she had come back, and since afterwards. She had told him she loved him, over and over. But never once had Ferb ever said it back to her. "Ferb doesn't love me."

BANG! Isabella probably jumped a foot into the air as one of the stall doors flew open.

"Sorry, miss." An old man came out of the stall. "I was going to leave earlier, but it was getting too interesting."

Isabella felt extremely disturbed, but the old man kept talking.

"And honey, you're too good for this boy. If he doesn't love you, then that's his loss. There are lots of other guys for you to love."

"No," Isabella shook her head, as she walked out of the bathroom. "I'll always love him."

* * *

**Oh Izzy, if only you could read some of the other chapters, and see how Ferb feels. So, anybody reading this story, please review!**

**Peace, love, and all that jazz from Silver**


	20. Thoughts and Trucks

**Sorry this story is so angsty right now. I'm not going for it, it just happens. Thank you for all the 100+ reviews. I bow down to the reviewers! Hollah! I... I can't really pull that off, can I?**

* * *

Phineas wanted to follow through on this one. He wasn't really the type of person to purposely break promises, but it just seemed to happen all the time. He had promised his mom that he would not bother Candace, yet she still seemed to get upset with him all the time. He had promised his friends from college that he would keep in touch, but he had only communicated with people around town. He had promised himself that this would be the best summer ever, but it was starting to feel like a summer wasted. And he had promised that he would email Isabella, and he hadn't.

So he wanted to follow through on his promise to be more attentive, especially towards Ferb and Isabella. It was almost like he had made a pledge under that tree, with Ferb as his witness.

That's why he had felt proud of himself when he saw that Ferb liked Gretchen. It wasn't until very recently that Phineas realized that he owed Ferb. Big time. Phineas couldn't remember what life had been like before he had Ferb. But he knew what it was like without Ferb. From way back in the day when Ferb went to debate camp, to just back several weeks in college, Phineas knew what it was like to be without Ferb.

Sometimes he would talk to himself, just subconsciously, to no one. He would mention Ferb's name and then be reminded that he wasn't there. Without Ferb, Phineas felt awkward around people, especially girls. Suddenly the scheming, dreaming part of Phineas would fade, and suddenly he didn't feel so optimistic anymore. Phineas without Ferb just… didn't make sense.

But he didn't just feel indebted to Ferb because of their brotherhood. Ferb was the only reason there was even going to be a wedding. Ferb kept promises. Without Ferb, Isabella would just be another face in the yearbook to Phineas. But because Ferb had thought not only to be kind and write Isabella, but also to keep her faith in Phineas alive by writing his name, Isabella and Phineas were together.

And that was nagging at Phineas. Because the truth was… _he cheated_. He hadn't leapt down and swept a beautiful bride off her feet, he had one handed to him by his brother. He hadn't even been able to think of a "grand gesture" on his own. He had been using the training wheels that Ferb had given him to get this far in life.

And he couldn't get it out of his head. Would he have been able to be with Isabella if he wasn't pretending he had written her? Had he ever even liked Isabella? Oh, he had always liked her, but had he ever felt more? Before any of this! No. Phineas had never had a crush on Isabella. And though he had gained one as soon as he laid eyes on her at age twenty-one, he wasn't sure how deep his feelings were. How deep could feelings run for a girl he cheated to get?

Phineas' head hurt. Something was wrong. Something, SOMETHING, was wrong around here, but he didn't know what. He walked solemnly into the living room, and saw Ferb on the couch, watching TV. He sat down next to him. Ferb weakly waved to him.

Phineas sat forward, his eyes not focused on the screen. "Hey Ferb, what do you want to do today?" He said, in a low tone.

Ferb shrugged.

Something was wrong with everyone! In the beginning of this summer, everybody had seemed so chipper. But somehow, everyone was beginning to get infected with this… this wrong feeling. Ferb had been first, then Isabella, and now Phineas. Phineas just wanted everyone to feel happy. He wanted to feel happy.

"So, uh, got anything fun planned for tomorrow? You know, the bachelor party?" Phineas said, throwing an icebreaker out there.

Ferb smiled downwards. "Well, I started out helping, but I ended up putting Buford and Baljeet in charge."

The boys chuckled. "Do you even want to do anything?" Phineas asked.

Ferb shrugged again.

"You know what! We're doing something! Something around here is bringing everyone down, and we need to get out!" Phineas said, standing up. "I'm calling Isabella!"

"Do you have to call her?" Ferb whispered.

Phineas looked down at him. "Why not? Is something wrong between you two?"

"No!" Ferb said, rising quickly. "Nothing! Umm, call her, tell her to meet us. I'll get changed." And he dashed out of the room.

Something's up with Ferb, thought Phineas. And I'm probably too stupid and inattentive to figure it out. He sighed, and dialed Isabella. Well, not anymore, thought Phineas. I'll figure out what's wrong with everybody.

"Hey, Isabella. You wanna meet me and Ferb for ice cream?"

**X**

Isabella sighed. She was the first one here, again. Phineas had said that the guys would be there soon; they just had to change and stuff. How much did guys have to do to look good?

She was wearing sweats, and no makeup. Isabella knew what vibe she was giving off. The quitter one. The only reason she was here was that all she had been doing at home was eating ice cream anyway.

She was done. It was time to fold; Ferb had won. Ferb was not in love with her, and she was going to marry Phineas. She was even going to tell Ferb that he didn't have to marry Gretchen if he didn't want to. Ferb had been right, like always. If the rejection she was feeling from Ferb right now was anything like what Phineas would feel if she walked out on him, then it wasn't worth doing. It wasn't worth hurting Phineas, just so she could continue to be sad and alone without Ferb.

She lifted her head and saw two guys walking together. Two bright heads, one green, one red. A watery smile came to Isabella's face. She just needed to be with them. Even if she didn't love Phineas, even if Ferb didn't love her, their friendship was plenty.

Isabella got up, and started walking quickly towards them. They only had to cross one street, and they would be with her. The guys were talking to each other quietly, and she wasn't sure what they were saying. They weren't really walking across quickly, or paying attention.

A truck was speeding down the road. The guys weren't looking. It was way too close! It wouldn't stop in time!

Isabella felt like her heart stopped. "FERB!" she screamed.

The truck slammed on the brakes, and the guys started walking across quickly, as the truck began honking at them.

Isabella ran up to the guys. "Bastard!" She yelled towards the truck. She grabbed Phineas' and Ferb's wrists, and dragged them across to the ice cream shop.

Isabella let go and turned towards Ferb. She hurriedly looked him up and down, feeling his face, scanning to see if anything was wrong. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" She said in a panicked voice.

"I'm fine." He said breathlessly.

"Oh my god, I was so worried!" She threw her arms around Ferb.

She held him as tight as she could. She could hear his heartbeat still speeding. But it was okay now; he was there, she still had him.

Isabella felt Ferb's breath on her head, and she heard him whisper, "Phineas."

Phineas had been watching the whole display. He was standing there now, watching them hug, curiously.

Isabella had forgotten about her ruse, forgotten who she was supposed to be marrying. In that moment, the only thing that Isabella could think of was Ferb. But it was over now, so the mask had to go back on.

"Phineas, are you alright?" She rushed over to him. She honestly was concerned, but now it felt dirty, it felt fake.

"Yeah." Phineas said, nodding his head. He had a strange, thoughtful, expression on his face, and he kept glancing at Ferb.

Isabella let out a huge breath of relief. They were ok. Thank god. "Let's go eat ice cream." She said, grabbing Phineas' hand.

They sat down at the table, and got some ice cream. As they sat eating, Phineas still had that strange expression on his face.

"That was pretty scary, wasn't it guys? That truck could have flattened me and Ferb." Phineas said.

"Don't make me relive it, Phineas." Isabella said.

"You were really worried about us. I heard you scream Ferb's name across the street."

Isabella squirmed in her seat uncomfortably.

"You would probably have tried to save us."

"Yes!" Isabella said, "I would definitely have tried to save both of you!"

Phineas' voice turned dark and serious, "But what if you couldn't."

"What?" she said fearfully.

Phineas' voice suddenly reverted back to its peppy self. "Let's play a little game, Isabella. If that truck was coming at us again, and you could only save one of us, who would you save?"

Ferb angrily frowned. "Phineas, what the hell? What kind of question is that to ask her?"

"I'm just wondering. Would she pick her love or one of her closest friends?"

Isabella took a deep breath. "If that truck was coming at us again, and one of us had to die…"

The boys listened with anticipation.

"…I would throw myself in the way, and let you guys go free."

Phineas laughed. "Nice loophole. But don't worry about me Isabella. Friendship is the most important thing. You should save your friend," He pointed at Ferb, "and sacrifice your love." He pointed at himself.

Isabella sorrowfully looked at Ferb for a few minutes. Then, her head whipped back to Phineas.

"Phineas," she said sadly. "I already did that."

And she got up, and left. Ferb stared after Isabella as she left, longingly.

"Ferb, I saw her looking at you. What did she mean, 'I already did that'?"

Ferb shrugged.

"Dude, you know something I don't. Just tell me so I can fix this problem we all have! It's ruining everything! Our happiness, our summer, our relationships!"

"Phineas, I don't have anything to tell you. You're going to have to find out yourself." Ferb said.

"Trust me, I will."

* * *

**Come on Phineas, you got this! *plays action music***

**Please review darlings! Lemme know what you think!**

**-Silver**


	21. The Bachelor Party

**Ok, guys, this should be kind of a fun chapter. But I am not a dude, so I have no idea what actually goes on at a bachelor party.**

* * *

The music was roaring. Lights were flashing. It was an all out, hard-core, party. A bachelor party.

Ferb looked around. The gang was in a brand new nightclub that had recently opened up downtown. Disco lights were all over the place; even the floor lit up. Popular music was blasting through the speakers. Large banners were hung around the room that read, "Phineas Is King!". That was tonight's theme.

Ferb was standing near the bar, looking around. Not as refined as he would have liked it, but, hey, it was a bachelor party. Baljeet and Buford had done a good job. Baljeet was the practical one; he found the venue, the food, and the theme. And Buford, well, he knew how to add just the right amount of raunchy.

And right then, Ferb happened to see the guys coming right up to him. "Well, Ferb, what do you think? Did we do a killer job, chili-cheese?" Baljeet said, bopping his head forward to the music, with obnoxiously large sunglasses.

Ferb smiled awkwardly at him, "Yeah, but would you mind telling me why my grandfather is here?"

"You know, back in England, we call these 'stag-parties'." Ferb could hear him from farther across the room.

"We needed chaperones." Baljeet said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Buford smiled, "Plus, he's a riot."

And Mr. Fletcher came skateboarding right past them. "Ello, Ferb!"

Ferb slid his hand down his face. Nonsensical and embarrassing.

Phineas came running after him. "Go Grandpa! Go Grandpa!"

"Having fun, dinner bell?" asked Buford.

"Yeah! But what's with those girls?" He pointed at the pole dancers around the room. "And they barely have any clothes on!"

Buford smiled cheekily. "I think you'll understand if you watch."

All four guys turned towards one of the pole dancers. She wrapped her leg around the pole and spun about it, dipping to show just enough cleavage. She winked towards the guys.

"She winked at me!" Baljeet squealed.

"Enjoyed the show?" Asked Buford.

"I don't get it." Phineas said, scratching his head.

Buford threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know how to get through to you, man! Anyway, it's not a bachelor party without naked women."

"Ok?" said Phineas. Overall, Phineas was pretty happy, As of right now, this party seemed to be lifting everyone's spirits. The food was great, the DJ was awesome, and everybody seemed to be in a better mood. Even Ferb.

Ferb was in a better mood. The party atmosphere just made everything a lot more fun. It wasn't like he had been in a bad mood, necessarily. It was just that, understandably, he had a lot on his mind. But now he was just hanging with his guy friends, and Phineas was happy.

"I wonder what the girls are doing right now." Said Baljeet. They were having their bachelorette party.

"Dude, this is the one night where we don't think about them." Said Buford. "Phineas' unofficial last night of freedom."

Right then, Phineas' phone rang. Buford squinted at him. "Don't answer, you need to be partying."

"It's ok, guys. Party without me for a sec."

"It's sort of loud in here, Phineas. You won't be able to hear anything." Said Baljeet.

"Yeah, I'm just going to step out for a sec." He walked towards the door, and exited as he answered the call.

Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet looked after him for a second. "That guy has no wild side." Said Buford.

Meanwhile, Phineas was right outside the club. It was totally silent out here. The call was from an unknown number, but he answered anyway. "Hello?"

"Heeeyyy, baby!"

Phineas didn't know who was calling. It was a girl, speaking slowly and sounding funny. "Hello, who is this?"

"Baby, it's me."

Phineas recognized the voice now. It was Isabella, speaking a lot slower, and in a lower tone than normal. But it was loud in the background behind her. "Isabella?"

"I want you SO bad right now."

Phineas' eyes opened wide.

"I want you, like, a billion times more than I wanted you before. Like before we did it last time."

WHAT was she talking about?

"You, and me." Isabella broke off into giggles. "Only you can make me talk like that. And it was sooo gooood. Over… and over…"

Phineas was more than a little freaked out by this conversation. "Isabella, are you drunk?" He heard a hiccup, then silence. Had she hung up on him?

"BLACKJACK!" she yelled suddenly, so loudly it hurt his ear. "I wanna play blackjack! But only with shirtless rules." She started giggling again.

"Isabella, this is Phineas. Are you ok? Are you drunk?" He was feeling a little worried about her. She wasn't making sense.

"No no no! Where's… Perry? Ha. I want you baby! I want you so bad it hurts! I want you right now, like, this second, now! I wuv yooouuu!" Isabella hiccupped again.

"Umm, Isabella…" Phineas wasn't sure what to say.

"I love you. I love you Fe... Whoopsee! Ha-ha, oh no, you're Phineas. I almost said the wrong thing! And he would be maaadd at me. Really mad. He wouldn't even, like, like me anymore. But I really really really want him, you know?"

Phineas heard voices in the background. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could make out Gretchen and Isabella talking, and then the line went dead. Phineas shut his phone, and went back inside.

The guys were sitting at the bar, enjoying some finger foods, and cold drinks. "There he is." Said Buford. Phineas walked up to them with a confused look on his face. "Back to partying!"

Ferb noticed the strange look on his brother's face. "What's up with you?"

Phineas tilted his head. "I just got a really weird call from Isabella. I think she was drunk."

Buford looked up from eating. "It's not a bachelorette party without drunk girls."

"Yeah," said Phineas, as he swiveled around on his stool, "But she sounded really drunk. She wasn't making any sense."

"Not making sense how?" said Baljeet. All three guys stared at Phineas in interest, especially Ferb.

"Well, she said she 'wanted me'. A lot. More than last time."

The guys seemed stunned. Buford whistled. "Man, Phin, after tonight, I didn't think you had it in ya."

"No!" Phineas shook his head frantically. "Me and Isabella… never… really… did anything."

"Well, there goes my faith in ya." Said Buford.

"Halfway through, she realized it was me. I think… she was talking about another guy. She loves and wants another guy."

"No, Phineas, no way." Said Baljeet. "Isabella has always been crazy about you. And when somebody is really drunk, they just spout nonsense. Maybe she's just talking about an old boyfriend from Alaska, or she is just making up stuff on the spot."

"Yeah, I mean, at one point she was talking about playing blackjack shirtless. That's pretty random. What do you think Ferb?"

Phineas turned towards Ferb. Ferb looked awful. He had this awful, stricken look on his face, like something horrible had happened, and he was pale white. "Ferb, you look awful."

"No, I'm fine." He said. He shook his head, trying to snap out of it. He turned to Phineas suddenly, "How drunk was Isabella? Was it really bad?"

"Yeah, I was a little worried." Phineas said.

"Guys, this is bachelor party time, meaning thinking about your fiancé is the last thing to do." Said Buford.

Phineas shrugged. "I guess you're right. I think she'll be fine with Gretchen and the girls."

"Good, now let's go party!" said Buford.

The guys headed towards the dance floor. Phineas was hopping around to the music, and watching his friends dance with the strippers for a few minutes when he noticed something. "Hey, where's Ferb?"

Phineas stepped back and looked around. "He was right behind us a second ago!" Phineas saw his grandpa whizzing by on the skateboard, and caught him before he fell. "Grandpa, have you seen Ferb?"

"Oh, uh, let me think. Yes! The lad told me that he had to go to some girl, um, Isabelle?"

"Isabella? Why?"

Grandpa scratched his chin. "I think he was concerned for her wellbeing. He seemed very upset. I think he was very worried about her, Phineas."

Phineas stared towards the exit. "He was?"


	22. The Bachelorette Party

The highway had been pretty dark, and nearly empty. No wonder, thought Ferb. It was already past one in the morning. Well, he should be there soon. If he even knew where there was. Ferb honestly had no clue where he was going. Another nightclub kind of place, he assumed. All he had was the address.

The darkness, the quiet, it was scaring him a little. At least Ferb knew he was dry. It wasn't like Ferb never drank. It was just, he hadn't. Despite the party, he hadn't. But obviously Isabella had.

Ferb saw lights ahead, and pulled into the club's very full parking lot. He got out quickly and hurried to the front door. Why was he in a rush? More importantly, why was he even here? Like Buford had said, girls were allowed to get drunk at bachelorette parties. Actually, they were allowed to get drunk whenever they pleased. And surely Gretchen or someone was the designated driver. Ferb didn't need to be worried; he and Isabella had no strings attached.

Yet, he couldn't help it. He was automatically converting into overprotective boyfriend mode. His imagination was already going a little wild. Isabella had already drunk-dialed Phineas. He didn't want her doing anything that she would regret when she was sober, and he especially didn't want her hurting herself. Ferb opened the doors and followed the music.

He found himself in a huge room. It was lit very dimly, and it was extremely cloudy because of smoke machines, but it was very similar to the guys' party. There was loud popular music, people partying, and if he squinted, he could see male strippers. But based on the way the girls were dancing, it was likely that the bachelorettes had a lot more to drink than the guys had.

Ferb made a face. How was he going to find Isabella in this mess of drunken girls? He started walking along the edge of the wall trying to spot her. He noticed two girls walking over to him. Oh no.

One of them, a redheaded girl with a large nose smiled at him. "Ooo, you're really handsome for a stripper."

"He's not a stripper." The other girl said. "I know him."

This one didn't seem nearly as drunk as the redhead. In fact, Ferb recognized her too, underneath her makeup and hairstyle. She was one of Isabella's troop members, umm, Milly! That was her name.

"Milly, I'm looking for Isabella." Ferb said slowly.

"And he's British!" said the other girl. "Hubba hubba."

"Shut up a sec." Milly said to her. "Umm, Isabella's over there. By the bar." Ferb noticed how apprehensive she sounded.

He gave a little nod of thanks to her, and headed towards the bar, ignoring the other girl, who was screaming her number to him. He didn't even have to get there before he saw Isabella. Oh no, thought Ferb.

"Wahoo, yeah, ladies, I think we aaallll could go for another round! Yeah!" Isabella shouted. Most of the ladies around the bar cheered.

This was worse than he thought. Isabella was standing on top of the bar, with a glazed look in her eyes, a wild smile on her face, and a beer bottle in her hand. Her hair was a big black frizzy mane around her. She was wearing tight black boots, an even tighter black miniskirt, and a pink spotted black bra, which could only mean she had thrown her shirt somewhere.

A majority of the girls around her were just as drunk or seemed to be getting there. Ferb was surprised that Isabella's friends and relatives could get so crazy, but then again, they were following Isabella's lead. However, not all the girls were quite as wasted.

"Isabella, would you please come down from there?" Gretchen yelled up at Isabella.

"No can do, Gretcheroo. Izzy does what Izzy wants. And I THINK Izzy wants another shot." She said, as she tipped her bottle over, showing it was empty.

That's it. Ferb had to stop this. He rushed over to the bar.

"Oh Ferb, thank god." Said Gretchen. "I don't know what to do! I can't stop her, she won't listen to me!"

Ferb narrowed his eyes. "I'll get her to stop." He went up closer to the bar. "Isabella!"

Isabella turned towards him, and her face broke out into a huge smile. "Ferbie! Did you get my call?"

"Yes." He said dryly. "Isabella, I think it's time you went home."

Isabella started giggling insanely. "Yeah right. This is my last night of freedom; hell, this is my one and only bachelorette party. And there ain't no part-AY without Iz-ZAY!" The girls roared in agreement with her.

"Isabella…" Ferb warned.

"You could stay too, you know. We could have soooo much fun," She puckered her lips at him. "Together."

Ferb rubbed the back of his head. "Isabella," he said shyly, "Do you wanna know a secret?"

Isabella eyes grew wide like a little child's. "Yeah!" she said, eagerly nodding her head.

"Well, I can't tell everyone. I have to whisper it to you"

Isabella knelt down so she was level with Ferb. "Baby, baby, tell me!"

And with one swift motion, Ferb caught Isabella in his arms, and slung her over his shoulder.

"AAAHHH! Ferb, put me down, damn it! FERB! FERB!" Isabella screamed, as she beat her fists against Ferb's back, and kicked her feet in the air.

"Um, Gretchen," Ferb said, leaning towards her, while still holding, and ignoring, the screaming Isabella. "Can you handle everything here?"

Gretchen looked a little freaked out, as she glanced towards Isabella. "Yes?"

"Good." And Ferb headed towards the door. "Nothing to see here, ladies. Move along."

Isabella continued to scream and struggle until they reached the parking lot. "You ruined my party!"

"Nope, I'm pretty sure you ruined your own party." Ferb said, as they reached his car. He put Isabella down to reach for his keys. "Hey, hey!" He exclaimed, as she started running back towards the club.

"FREEDOM!" She screamed.

Ferb ran after her, and caught her around the waist from behind. "Would you just…" He took her hand and pulled her back towards the car. "Are we really going to have to do this, Isabella?" He opened the passenger side door.

Isabella was leaning against his shoulder. "I miss how you smell." She said.

"Um, well," Ferb said sheepishly, "Get in."

"Seatbelts, seatbelts…" Isabella sang, as she got in and buckled up. Ferb got in the driver's side. He dug into the door pocket for something. "Here." He handed Isabella a brown paper bag.

"Oh, Ferb, a present! For me! You shouldn't have!" Isabella giggled again.

Ferb faintly smiled. "I didn't. It's just bread. You need something to soak up all that alcohol."

Isabella started eating it, and turned towards him with a drunken smile. "It's the thought that counts."

Ferb started up the car and they began the drive home. It was even darker now, but with Isabella now beside him, it didn't seem scary.

"Ferbie," Isabella asked, "Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you home." He replied.

"Are we going to have sex?"

"No!" A startled Ferb glanced at her. She smiled coyly at him.

"Not even if I ask nicely?"

"No, Isabella." Ferb replied, eyes on the road.

"Darn." She turned to look out the window. "Hey, it's daaarrk."

"Yeah, it's very late. Everybody is going to be exhausted tomorrow." He already knew he was going to have pretty dark circles.

"Ferb, I liiiike listening to you." She turned towards him. "Why don't you talk all the time?"

He sighed. "Because there are other people to do that. Like Phineas."

"You sound better." She patted him on the arm. "Why do you talk to me then?"

"Because…" Because what? Thought Ferb. Because you understand me better than anyone? Because with you I finally feel complete? Because I'm completely and totally in love with you? "… You're Isabella."

"Thaat's me. Izzy's got the frizzies. Actually, Izzy's getting sleeepy." She yawned widely.

"Well, we're at your house. You can get out now, Isabella. Isabella?" He turned towards her. Isabella's eyes were closed, and she was leaning on the headrest. Ferb smiled. But now what?

Ferb got out, and opened Isabella's door. He hunted around until he found what he was looking for. Her house keys. Ferb unbuckled her seatbelt, and gently maneuvered the sleeping girl into his arms, this time, bridal style. He opened the door, and entered the dark hallway. He quickly went upstairs, and into Isabella's room, trying not to wake her or her parents.

Ferb flicked on a lamp, and gently put Isabella on her bed. His arms had almost left her body… when her arms suddenly sprung to life, wrapped around his neck and pulled him into a surprise kiss!

"Gotcha!" Isabella began giggling again.

"Isabella…" He groaned.

Isabella pulled him again, and now he was in the awkward position of being on top of her. Isabella began kissing him again, and he began kissing her back. She wound her fingers around in his hair, and he began running his hands down her bare stomach. But then Ferb broke away, leaving them both gasping for air.

"What's… wrong?" Isabella panted.

"You're drunk."

"So?" she said. "That doesn't mean you don't have permission."

"But I wouldn't feel right about it." He said, as he sat up.

Isabella smiled. "You're suuccchh a good boy Ferb."

"No I'm not." He said looking down at his hands. "Isabella, why did you drink so much tonight?"

She blinked twice slowly. "I was sad."

"Why?" Ferb asked. He looked away from her again. "It's my fault, isn't it? This whole mess is my fault."

"No, Ferb, you're a gooood boy. I wuv you!" She turned her head on the pillow and shut her eyes.

Ferb got up off the bed, and pulled the blanket over her. He gently kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Isabella." He turned off the light, and left. He had one foot out of Isabella's door when he heard her moving. He turned around, and saw Isabella sitting up in her bed. She must think I left already, he thought.

"Goodnight, Ferb. " She hiccupped, and then spoke in the most sober voice he had heard all night. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered, as he shut the door.

* * *

**I think drunk Isabella is my new favorite character to write. Anyway, I felt like it was time for a real Ferbella-y chapter, so here it is. I have to thank the reviewers once more. It's just nice to know people are reading. So everyone, please review!**

**-Silver**


	23. Thank You

**You nutbars. I can't believe you actually found the last chapter funny! I don't really consider myself funny. Anyway, here's a nice, super long chapter.**

* * *

"Isa! Time to wake up!"

Urrgh. Isabella groggily opened her eyes. I feel like I got hit by a truck, she thought. Her head was pounding. Everything, from the light coming from the window, to the sound of her mother downstairs, was making it hurt. Why… oh right, she thought. I'm hung over.

Isabella lifted the blankets off her body. She couldn't remember anything from last night. She still had her shoes on. Those, and the tight skirt, were feeling very uncomfortable right now. EEK! Why was she only wearing a bra? Isabella racked her brain, but she couldn't even remember getting home, so obviously forgetting to change into pajamas was a minor problem.

"Isabella!" Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro called.

She could hear her mother coming upstairs. Isabella shrank under the covers again, and turned her head away. She wasn't sure if her mother had seen her last night, but if she hadn't, she didn't want her to now.

"Isabella!" Her mom loudly opened the door. "Isabella, time to wake up, darling. It's nearly one in the morning. I don't know what time you got in last night, but you have to wake up. The wedding rehearsal is in a few hours."

Isabella quickly lifted her head up before her mother came close to the bed. "Yeah, ok, Mom. I'm going to go shower."

Vivian left the room, and Isabella tumbled out of the bed. Ow! She got up and shook herself off. She grabbed some fresh clothes and rushed into the bathroom before anyone saw her.

Isabella hurriedly locked the door, and leaned against it. She felt awful. Let's see how bad the damage is, she thought. She went up to the bathroom mirror and peered at herself. Her hair was a total mess; frizzy, bushy, just wild-looking. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and the eye makeup was smeared. Her lipstick was smeared all over her face. I look awful too, she thought.

Isabella looked down at the rest of her body. Nothing seemed to be hurt or ruined, but she felt grimy and, she sniffed herself, she smelt like a bottle of whiskey. What did I do, she wondered. Pour it down my shirt? Well, she had no idea where her shirt was. She didn't even know what shirt she had worn.

Isabella took a deep breath. She turned on the shower, and stripped off all her clothes. A nice hot shower will do me good, she thought. She stepped in, and let the hot water rinse away as much of last night as it could.

This, this kind of thing just didn't happen to Isabella. She was always cool and calm, and always in control. The fact that she couldn't even remember anything from last night was scaring her. Anything could have happened!

She closed her eyes and tried to just relax, and let the water run down her body. But that only led to more worries. Had she posted pictures of herself naked? Had she done something humiliating? Had she gone too far with a stripper? Had she spilt any secrets?

She just couldn't relax. She finished showering as fast as she could, and then hurriedly put on some sweats and a tee. She toweled her wet hair quickly and rushed out of the bathroom.

How was she going to find out what she had done last night? The thought of searching for "insane Isabella" videos on social media websites crossed her mind. Isabella winced. Nope, that was definitely not how she wanted to know what happened last night. She was praying no videos like that existed. Isabella fanned herself with her hand. Just because I got drunk doesn't mean I did something insane, she thought. Right? RIGHT?

"Isabella, you ready for food?" her mother called.

"Yes, Mom." She uneasily went downstairs.

"Good, you're here." Her mom slid a plate of breakfast towards her.

"Mom," she said while picking at her plate, "Did anything unusual happen yesterday?"

"No. But what about you? How was your bachelorette party?" Her mom smiled brightly at her.

Obviously she was in as much of the dark about last night as Isabella was. So how did I get home, Isabella wondered. "Mom, I have to do something."

"Ok, darling. But remember, everyone in the wedding needs to be at the church around five."

"Got it." Isabella said, as she turned to go back upstairs.

Once she got to her room, she grabbed her phone. The first thing she noticed was that the last call she had made was to Phineas some time last night. Why did I call Phineas, she wondered. What did I tell him? She was suddenly struck with panic. Had she told Phineas the truth? That she wasn't in love with him, and that she loved someone else? Did she say anything about Ferb? Oh no. Oh no. Oh no!

Isabella might have been upset with him, she might have been angry and bitchy towards him, but the truth was that she would never be able to intentionally hurt Ferb. Ferb trusted her with keeping their affair a secret. It wasn't even an affair; it was a one-night stand and a girl with futile feelings. But she knew Ferb didn't want Phineas to get hurt by this. And if Isabella, in her stupid, drunken state, had betrayed Ferb's trust, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. And if Isabella was the one who was responsible for ripping apart Phineas and Ferb, she would definitely not be able to live with herself.

That's it! She had to know what had happened last night! And she knew exactly who to call!

"Oh my god, it's you! Are you ok, chief?"

Isabella winced. "Yeah, Gretch, I'm fine. Just… don't talk so loud." Her head still hurt. She went to the medicine cabinet and grabbed some aspirin.

"I'm sorry. So as the maid of honor, during the rehearsal…"

"Gretchen, I'm sorry, but I really don't care about that right now. I need you to tell me what I did last night."

"Oh dear. Is your memory gone?" asked Gretchen.

"Y-yes." Isabella's voice cracked. She just felt so… vulnerable.

"Ok." Gretchen paused for a second, and then she began telling her what happened. "We all arrived at the club, some time before nine. You seemed really upset… with me. If I did something wrong, Iz, I swear I…"

"No, keep going." Isabella felt her headache subsiding and a little of her memory returning. She had been upset. It hadn't been Gretchen's fault, it was just, the wedding had been coming up so quickly. And she had been longing for Ferb again.

"And someone, I don't remember who, said parties always make you feel better, and that alcohol always makes her feel better. And I think, in that moment, you decided you just wanted to get as drunk as possible that night."

Isabella groaned. Somehow, that sounded just like something she would do.

"So you went to the bar, and started ordering drinks. I kind of left you alone for a little while, but then the next time I saw you, you were… umm… hammered."

Isabella gulped. "What did I do, Gretch?"

"Well, you called Phineas on your phone, and blubbered about how much you 'wanted' him, until you realized it was him. I don't really know who you were talking about."

Isabella let loose a sigh of relief. It might be awkward talking to Phineas, but at least she hadn't specifically mentioned Ferb.

"I tried to stop you at that point, but you ran onto the dance floor with a bunch of other drunk girls. Half the party was trying to ignore you, and the other half was following you. Somewhere on the dance floor, you ripped your shirt off. I never found it. Anyway, you led them back to the bar, and everyone kept getting drunker and drunker. You were standing on top of the bar, laughing and screaming."

Isabella moaned and covered her face with her hand. How would anyone ever respect her after this?

"At that point, I knew I had lost control of you. I kept trying to get you to stop, but you wouldn't listen. But then when Ferb came…"

"What!" Isabella suddenly jolted up. "Ferb!"

"Yeah… I… I don't know why he came. But he promised he would get you under control. He went up to you and you kind of… flirted with him, and then he grabbed you, and slung you over his shoulder, as you threw a tantrum. He asked me to make sure the party ended fine, which it did, and you guys left."

Isabella pulled the phone away from her ear, and covered her racing heart. She was suddenly filled with that warm, giddy feeling again. Ferb came to make sure I was ok, she thought. Ferb brought me home. Ferb took care of me instead of taking advantage of me.

"Hello, Isabella?" said Gretchen.

"Yes, yes, I'm here."

"I have to ask you something, chief."

"Go ahead." Isabella said, in a dreamy voice.

"What's up between you and Ferb?"

"What!" Isabella yelped. "Nothing, nothing, is up between me and Ferb. There has never been anything between us. Why, why would you even ask that?" Was their ruse really so paper-thin? Did having Phineas as their only audience make them careless?

"Well, it's just, I saw you two talking that day at lunch. And that night at the restaurant. And during the bachelorette party."

"Don't worry yourself, Gretchen. Anyway, thanks for telling me, and goodbye." Isabella said as fast as she could, and she hung up.

**X**

"And then I pronounce you husband and wife." The justice of the peace said. "And we're done!"

Everyone let out little cheers. Originally the plan had been to have a wedding in the church and the temple, but everyone had noticed how stressed the bride and groom seemed, so they were just having one ceremony in the church.

"Well, the wedding rehearsal is done." Phineas said triumphantly. "Now everyone to the rehearsal dinner!"

People began leaving. They had a large number of bridesmaids, groomsmen, and others to fit into a few cars. Everyone was already dressed for the dinner, meaning no one had been wearing his or her actual wedding day clothes.

Ferb smiled. He just would never get tired of the chaos and love that his friends and family could bring to, well, everywhere.

"I'm telling you, I'm not going to fit in that tiny thing."

"Buford, just get in the car."

"I know you have the key, honey, I left a sticky note on your shirt."

"Aww, man, I had my thumb over the lens the whole time!"

"I bet Phineas and Ferb built something at the hotel. You'll see, Mom. I swear!"

Ferb smiled again. The church was nearly empty now, except for a few small people.

"Look, Uncle Ferb, I can drop flowers better than anyone!" said Amanda, the little flower girl of the wedding.

Ferb gave her a thumbs up, then pointed towards the exit.

"No, I can't leave. I have to practice my technique."

"Practice your technique?" Ferb chuckled. "You little sweetheart." He started tickling Amanda, and the church filled with her giggles.

"Amanda!"

Ferb tilted his head. "Go. Daddy's calling you."

"Are you coming?" she asked him.

"I'll catch up."

"Ok." And the little girl ran laughing out the door.

Ferb smiled after her, and looked around the empty church.

"I was right, you would make a great dad."

Ferb turned back around to the entrance. Isabella was standing there. She wasn't wearing his dress for the rehearsal, but she still looked beautiful in the simple white dress she was wearing.

Ferb stared at her sheepishly, "You watching the entire time?"

She smiled, "Yeah."

"Umm, we should go." Ferb said. "The best man and the bride are kind of important."

"Are you making a speech tonight?" she giggled.

"You might be surprised." He said. He noticed they had been walking towards each other.

Isabella stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ferb's cheek. His eyes grew wide.

"Oh no, Ferb, I don't have any wrong intentions this time. That was a thank you. For yesterday." Said Isabella. "For rescuing me."

Ferb smiled at her.

"How many cars are left?" she asked.

"One." He replied.

"How many people?"

"Two." He smiled again.

* * *

**So this was Izzy's side of the story... kind of. Is Gretchen getting wise to what's really going on? For anyone who doesn't know, everyone who is part of the wedding does have to rehearse their roles - hence, the wedding rehearsal. Then, all the guests go to a party afterwards - the rehearsal dinner. That's the next chapter. Anyway, I ended with a little more fluff. Keep reviewing please!**

**Love Silver**


	24. Truth or Dare

**This should be an interesting chapter. More humor, drama, and a shocking end. Keep reviewing!**

**Love, Silver**

* * *

"Whoo, yeah, Ferb." All the tables cheered as Ferb took his seat once more after making his speech.

"That was so beautiful." Exclaimed Linda, who was near tears.

Isabella turned to Ferb, who was sitting next to her and whispered, "Why is it that you can move audiences to tears and win debates by saying almost nothing?"

He smiled back at her. "Why is it that you can be cuter than everyone by doing almost nothing?"

Isabella blushed. She still wasn't sure what was going on between them. She had been sure Ferb didn't feel the same way about her, but after last night… maybe Ferb cared more than she had thought. She and Ferb had ridden to the dinner together, in silence. But Isabella felt like she was falling in love with silence, as long as she was with Ferb. It was his thing, after all.

Gretchen, who had been watching them, gently nudged Phineas next to her. "Phineas," she asked, "Does it ever seem like Ferb and Isabella talk a lot to you?"

Phineas gave her a knowing smile. "Are you jealous?"

Gretchen shook her head. "Phineas, " she said, straight-faced and honest, "While Ferb is a great guy, I don't have any real romantic feelings for him. I've only been on two dates, if you could even call them that, with Ferb. And during both of them, Isabella was there. With Ferb." She lowered her voice. "Doesn't that seem the least bit suspicious to you?"

Phineas took another bite off his fork. "Nope. They're friends."

"Ok." Gretchen shrugged. "But do you have any idea if anything has ever happened between Ferb and Isabella?"

"I don't know. I mean, I bet there's something in the emails he sent her."

"What emails?" Gretchen asked.

Phineas turned his head to look at her slowly. She saw he had a panicked expression on his face. "Ha ha, emails. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"But you just said…"

"No idea what you're talking about! Maybe you've had too much wine, Gretch. Or, or maybe you need another glass, and you'll just forget about, umm, what were we, I, umm, I have to go to the bathroom!" and Phineas got up and scampered off.

"Emails." Gretchen said again, to herself. Gretchen wasn't stupid. Obviously, her hunch that something was going on between Isabella and Ferb was correct. And clearly Phineas and those emails had something to do with it. If only she could get him to spill the secret. He wouldn't just tell her. How could she get him to tell her?

As the night continued, guests went from dining to dancing to going to their hotel rooms or home. It was around one o'clock when the only people left were the young adults. Everyone was sitting around, just talking. It was then when Gretchen came up with her idea.

"Hey, guys!" she said. Everyone turned towards her. "How about we play an old school favorite?" She held up one of the empty wine bottles. "Truth or dare!"

Everyone seemed interested. It didn't matter whom she landed on, because she could get Phineas, Ferb, or Isabella to reveal something.

"I'm so in. Who else is playing?" said Adyson.

Buford got up. "Alright, guys, don't be wussy. Unless you can't handle taking on the king of dares."

Phineas' eyes lit up. "This could be really fun. I can't believe we never put playing classic truth or dare on any of our lists for summer!" He grabbed Isabella's arm. "Come on, Isabella!"

Isabella looked extremely reluctant. She had an inkling to why Gretchen wanted her to play. She turned to look at Ferb. "I'll play if Ferb plays."

Phineas smiled. "Oh, he's playing."

Ferb rolled his eyes, then got up and walked over to where everyone else was.

Gretchen smiled deviously. "Ok, how many people are playing? Ginger, Adyson, Baljeet, Buford, Isabella, Phineas, Ferb, Holly, Katie, Milly, and me. So everybody sits at this table, somebody spins the bottle, and whomever it lands on has to choose truth or dare. I'm going first."

Gretchen put the bottle on the nice white tablecloth and spun it. Isabella watched as the bottle went round and round. And it landed on…

"Baljeet!" Buford cackled. "Pick your poison."

"Umm…" Baljeet whimpered. "Dare?"

Gretchen had really been hoping to get someone else. Now she had to think up a dare for Baljeet. "I don't know, I dare you to say 'ain't'".

"Pulling out the big guns, I see Miss Gretchen." Baljeet gulped. "Ain't." he shuddered.

"Lame." Said Buford. "Just spin."

Baljeet spun the bottle. "Ginger."

"Umm, truth." She stammered.

"Is it true you used to like me?" Baljeet asked.

Everyone gasped. "Yes." She whimpered.

"Ha! Yes! I knew I wasn't as oblivious as Phineas!"

"What?" said Phineas.

Ginger scowled. "Just let me spin the stupid thing. I got Phineas."

Phineas smiled. "Truth."

Ginger tilted her head, "Hmm, who was your first crush?"

Everybody stared at Phineas with interest. "Ha, this should be good." Isabella muttered.

Phineas turned bright red. "Oh man, why did you have to be the one to ask me this?"

"What does that mean?" asked Ginger.

Phineas turned even redder and shrank down in his seat. "It… was… Stacy."

The entire table erupted into laughter. "Oh… god… I… can't… breathe!" Buford was in hysterics.

Isabella giggled. "When was this?"

"I don't know, it started when she was playing mini golf with us that one summer." Phineas said.

"Well, studies show that young boys are very likely to develop amorous feelings for elder women already respected by their family." Said Ferb.

"Thank you Ferb." Said Phineas, as he spun the bottle. "Adyson."

"Bring it." She said. "Truth."

"Do you ever wish you had never been born?" he asked.

"Only when I get injured/heat stroke." She responded. Adyson spun, and it landed on Buford.

"Ok, losers, now I'll show you how this game is supposed to be played. Dare!" said Buford.

Adyson's eyes narrowed. "Call your mother and tell her you're gay."

Everyone started laughing again. "But guys…" he whined.

"Do it, oh great king of dares!" said Baljeet.

"Don't make me pound you!" Buford hung his head. "Ok, I'll do it." He dialed his mom on his cell phone. "Hello, Mom. I just had something to tell you. I'm gay."

Everyone was in hysterics. Baljeet rolled out of his chair laughing.

"No, Mom… I… it was a dare… Mommy…ok, I promise to never play with your emotions again." He hung up the phone. "Man, you guys suck."

"Yeah, we kinda do." Said Katie. "Baljeet, get up."

"Sorry!" he said, still smiling.

"Well, I'm taking my anger out on the next person!" he spun the bottle vigorously. "Ferb."

"Truth." Ferb said, straight-faced.

"Ok, rate the last girl you slept with from one to ten on her skill." Buford said.

"Ew, Buford, that's gross." Said Holly.

Ferb's face remained the same. "Zero."

"What!" Isabella shouted, standing up. Everyone stared at her. "I, I mean…"

"Hey there, kids." Lawrence Fletcher came into the room. "I hate to be the one to bust up the party, but I think it's really time for you to go to home."

Everyone began getting up to go. Isabella stood there, angry, arms crossed.

"What's the matter, love?" he asked her.

"Nothing. Do you guys have any room in your car?" she asked.

"No, sorry. I thought Ferb would drive you."

"Great." She growled.

"Ready to go?" Ferb asked her.

"Yes." She spat at him.

They drove to Isabella's house in silence again. When they got there, both of them got out of the car and went inside. As soon as they got inside, Isabella turned on Ferb. "I can't believe you said that!"

"Be quiet. Your parents might hear us." He said.

"No they won't, they sleep like rocks. I can't believe you, you asshole! I can't believe you said I was a zero!" She yelled at him.

"You are a zero, because I never slept with you." Ferb responded.

"He wasn't asking for specifics, genius. It's nice to know you rank me up so high in your life." The fuming Isabella began running upstairs.

"Isabella, wait!" He called, and he followed her up to her room.

"Shut up! Phineas, your reputation, everything comes before me! It's obvious how little you care about me." She yelled.

Ferb growled and balled his hands into fists. "You just don't get it, do you? All you think about is yourself! Do you even know what I'm going through right now? Everyday, every minute!" He yelled. He began pacing the floor of her room.

Isabella, startled by his outburst, just watched him. "Oh Ferb. I'm sorry, I do understand. Ferb?" She watched him go back and forth. "Whatcha' doin'?"

Ferb closed his eyes tightly. Those words. Words that had never been directed at Ferb before.

Isabella barely had time to register what happened as Ferb suddenly flew at her. His hands pinned her wrists to the wall, and his lips captured hers in a passionate kiss. Isabella could only respond back, eagerly, and desperately.

It was only when Ferb realized he was running out of air did he pull away from Isabella. He rested his slightly sweaty forehead against hers, panting. He opened his eyes to see Isabella's smile.

Ferb groaned. "Oh, I hate you!" She had said it on purpose. She knew exactly how he would react.

"No, you don't." She said still smiling. She pushed herself off the wall, and pushed Ferb onto the bed. "I'll show you who's a zero."

Oh god, thought Ferb. They were doing it all over again.


	25. Our Last Kiss

**Well, ladies and germs, boys and squirrels, the story is coming to an end. There will be only a couple more chapters after this. I feel like this chapter goes nicely with the song Daylight by Maroon 5. I'm completely nuts about them.**

* * *

There was one time that summer Ferb had messed up. Nothing bad had actually happened, but it definitely could have. Good thing Phineas had paid enough attention to not attach the laser. And what had his pathetic excuse been? "I was weak."

And it was damn true! Getting distracted by a pretty teenager was one thing. But he was a lot weaker than he had thought based on this. Ferb was extremely grateful for the pillow underneath his head, because he would've probably passed out if he had been standing up.

If he only didn't have so many worries, then this moment would seem so perfect. He was lying shirtless under Isabella's covers, motionless except for his breathing. Isabella was snuggled next to him, with his left arm wrapped around her. She was lazily drawing indistinct patterns with her fingers on his bare chest.

Ferb just barely glanced at her. She peeked up at him and smiled. Ferb's heart broke a little. Gosh, there was never a time when she didn't look beautiful. But for some reason, Isabella always looked heavenly after they made love. It was something Ferb wished no other man would ever get to see.

Ferb just looked away from her. There was probably a rant about how wrong this was inside of him somewhere, and he didn't want to upset Isabella again by letting it out. He squeezed her close to him to show he wasn't ignoring her gaze though.

Besides Isabella's fingers wandering his chest, they remained motionless for a little while longer. Ferb didn't know what time it was. They left the party at one-something, but he didn't have any other information. It wasn't bright out yet.

Ferb knew he had to leave soon. They both needed to sleep. But he just couldn't. As much as Ferb wanted to ignore it, the fact was that today was the wedding. And then it would all be over. He would lose Isabella forever. Somehow, he knew this would've happened. He took that last shot he had with Isabella. And these were those last minutes.

Ferb closed his eyes tight for a little longer and felt her fingers, her skin, and her breath, on him. And then he opened his mouth. "I think… I think it's time for me to leave."

Isabella made a little grumbling noise. He knew he said he was going to leave, but he did nothing. They both remained stationary.

"We could still do it, you know." Isabella said quietly. "Run away together."

Ferb ran his hand up and down her arm. "No we can't. What about our families? What about our friends? We wouldn't exactly be able to have proper relationships with them anymore."

"We don't need them." Isabella whispered. "We're smart. You're handy and resourceful. I'm sociable and organized. We could do it."

Ferb felt tears on his arm. He rolled onto his side to face her. "Hey." He wiped the tears from her face. "It'll be okay." Isabella let out a large sob, and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. "You're going to have all your friends and family. You're going to have Phineas, who will treat you like a queen. You're going to be able to do whatever you want in your life."

"But am I going to have you? Am I going to be able to do this, what we're doing right now?" Isabella asked desperately, pushing herself out of Ferb's arms.

Ferb said nothing. He had no answer.

"I thought not." she said, rolling over onto her side of the bed, facing away from Ferb.

"Isabella, you know we can't do this after you're married. We shouldn't even be doing this now. It's, it's…" Adultery? Immoral? Unethical? "…wrong."

"It doesn't feel wrong, Ferb." She said, still facing away from him.

"I know! It feels absolutely, a hundred percent, right!" Ferb said, as he pulled at his hair hysterically. "But, I just, I can't, and Phineas, and you, ever since we were younger, I just can't do it, but I did this, with you…"

Isabella had turned back towards him. She had never, ever, seen Ferb like this. Ferb, so quiet, smart, and put together all the time, was totally losing it. It was a little like how Phineas had lost it when they had been stuck on that island. The boys couldn't handle an unsolvable problem.

"Ferb. Ferb, calm down." She told him gently.

"It's all my fault! I ruined everyone's lives! Yours and Phineas! Me and those emails! It's all my fucking fault!"

"Ferb!" She grabbed onto his arm, trying to hold him still. "Stop it! It's not your fault!"

"No, it is! We're trapped and we can't get out of it! I'm sorry, Isabella, I'm so sorry! You must hate me!"

"FERB!" She caught his face in her hands, and stared into his wild eyes. "I don't hate you."

Ferb was suddenly on her. Isabella couldn't register, it was all happening too fast. His hands, his lips, were suddenly everywhere at once.

"Oh, Ferb." She moaned. "What… what are you doing?" She said between moans of pleasure.

As soon as it had started, it was over. Ferb sat up. "I'm weak." He said, as he got up and off of the bed. He started grabbing his clothes and putting them on.

Isabella shivered. She reached for her own undergarments and a sweatshirt. "Are you leaving?" she questioned.

Ferb, now fully clothed, peered at himself in the mirror. He had never seen such dark circles under such bloodshot eyes. He looked back at Isabella. "You should go to sleep. You're going to have to be up in a few hours."

"Yeah." Isabella sat back, seeming to take in the proximity of the wedding.

Ferb bit his lip. "I really have to go." If anyone even saw the car, they could catch on.

"Uh-huh." She said. She sounded as though she was about to cry.

"Isabella…"

"Just go!" she commanded. She had already slunk back under the sheets.

Ferb silently left the room. What a mess, he thought. He was a mess. If anything, everyday he was falling harder for Isabella. He had little to no self-control left. He desperately wanted to take Isabella up on her offer to run. But he just couldn't. His friends and family meant too much to him. And in a few hours she would marry Phineas. And Ferb would lose her forever.

He got to the bottom of the staircase and rubbed his eyes. He hoped he would be able to drive home. He just reached for the doorknob when he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

"Ferb! Ferb!" Isabella rushed down the stairs. She ran right up to him, threw her arms around him, and kissed him.

Ferb gently pulled away. "Is…"

She held one finger up to his lips. "Shut up. This isn't for you, this is for me." She said.

They began kissing again, more desperately than ever before. Of all their kisses, this was the most desperate, and the most passionate.

Isabella ripped herself away from Ferb. "Now go. Get out of here."

Ferb wordlessly left. She watched him leave, just like he had watched her. Isabella shut the door, and right in front of it, sunk to the ground, as she began to cry. Her back was against the door as she pulled her knees to her chest. That was our very best kiss, she thought. And it's going to be our very last.

* * *

**My final word today is please pray for Boston. I live right in Massachusetts; so it was quite terrifying, despite the facts that I'm not that close to Boston and nobody I know was there. No matter how exciting these things may seem to me in books or Batman movies, in real life, it's simply terror. I'm praying even though I'm an Atheist!**

**-Silver**


	26. Isabella's Breakdown

**What's happening, my sweet peas? Anything cool? P&F episode Backyard Hodge Podge on 2nite!**

* * *

Gretchen yawned and began running her hands through her hair. It was so fine that it never got very tangled, but Gretchen reached for her hairbrush anyway.

Today was the wedding. It wasn't happening until the evening, but it sure had snuck up on her. Gretchen was terribly worried about Isabella, and she hadn't been able to find out what was wrong with her. If this wedding actually happened, then what? What would happen with everybody? Phineas and Ferb? Isabella?

Gretchen pulled out her bridesmaid dress and looked at it. Gretchen had picked them out herself; the girls all apparently trusted her. Isabella apparently trusted her. She had gone with Isabella's favorite color, a nice shade of pink. It wasn't overbearing, and it would look nice on all of them.

But Gretchen just didn't feel that great. Something was going on with Isabella, her best friend, and Gretchen just didn't know what it was. And it was killing her! She always felt like she had to know everything, be the knowledgeable one, the informed one. And she, Isabella's "right-hand man" didn't even know what was wrong with her.

Gretchen packed up her dress neatly in a garment bag, and she also packed up her makeup and shoes. She was going to get dressed at Isabella's, and she was going to help Isabella dress in her gown. Maybe, just maybe, she could find out what was bothering her chief so much.

So Gretchen put everything in the car and drove off. It was an especially beautiful day. It was so sunny and summer-y and perfect. If only they could go back to being kids, and simply enjoy a lazy summer day.

Gretchen reached the Garcia-Shapiro's and, balancing everything in her arms, rang the bell. Isabella answered the door.

"Hi, Isabella, I'm here." Gretchen said. Isabella didn't look very well. She had a sickly pale look to her, and she looked as though she hadn't gotten much sleep. She wordlessly guided Gretchen inside. "Are you all right, Isabella?" Gretchen questioned, as she stepped inside.

Isabella nodded her head. "Come on, let's go upstairs." She said.

Gretchen followed her up. "How about I put on the bridesmaid dress and show you? Then we can do hair and makeup. You said you wanted all the girls to have their hair down, right?"

Isabella just nodded again, and gently pushed Gretchen into the bathroom. Gretchen quickly changed into her dress, and stepped out to show Isabella. "Ta-da!"

Isabella faintly smiled. "You look beautiful, Gretch."

"Wow, thanks. So show me how you want all the girls to look." Gretchen said, sitting down in front of Isabella's vanity. "C'mon."

Isabella stood behind her, and gently ran her hands through her hair. "I'm not really sure."

Gretchen peered up at Isabella. She was still stroking her hair, but her eyes were unfocused, looking off into the distance. Gretchen got up. "What's the matter with you?" Gretchen asked, moving to sit on Isabella's bed.

"I just…" Isabella trailed off quietly.

"Iz, I know something is up." Gretchen said. She reached down to put on her shoes, when she noticed something on the ground. "Izzy, what's this?"

"I don't know." Isabella said honestly.

It was a cell phone. Gretchen turned it over in her hands. "Isabella, this isn't yours." She opened it up to see two missed calls, one from Phineas Flynn, and one from Lawrence Fletcher. "This, this is Ferb's phone." She said, as she kept looking at it. Isabella paled. "Why do you have Ferb's phone?"

"Well, the boys and I hang out all the time. He must've left it here sometime." Isabella stammered.

"Stop lying to me!" Gretchen suddenly yelled. "Ferb had this with him last night at the rehearsal dinner! I know there's something going on between you and Ferb! I thought I was your best friend." She ended quietly.

Isabella's lip began to quiver. "I'm sorry Gretchen. You are my best friend. But I can't tell you anything." She sank down onto the bed, next to Gretchen. "I, I promised him."

"Isabella," Gretchen said, staring at her. "You're miserable. I can tell. Please, please, tell me what's wrong."

Isabella suddenly burst into tears. "I… I love him!"

Gretchen was taken aback by Isabella's sudden outburst. "What?"

"I love him! I love Ferb! I'm completely and totally, over-the-moon, truly, madly, deeply in love with Ferb!" Isabella cried.

Gretchen felt like a part of her knew this, but overall she was kind of surprised. "But you've always loved Phineas! You're marrying Phineas!"

"I know." Isabella sobbed. She rested her head on Gretchen's shoulder. "It all started when I was moving away. It started with those emails."

Emails. Gretchen's mind flipped back over to Phineas. Did he know all about this? He knew about it, and he still wanted Isabella to marry him?

Isabella continued speaking. "I really wanted Phineas to keep in touch and email me. I thought that maybe he still could fall for me. And then one day I got a response from him. So we kept emailing up until this summer. And by then I was totally in love with my pen pal. So once I got back, you all know, we started dating, and he proposed to me. It wasn't until then when I realized…" Isabella let loose an insane giggle, and began crying again. "… I hadn't been writing Phineas for those ten years at all. I had been writing Ferb! Ferb, pretending to be his brother! I was in love with Ferb!"

Gretchen was totally blown away. She thought back to high school. Ferb had never had a steady girlfriend as long as she had known him. Ferb had spent a lot of time with his laptop. It actually made sense.

"I freaked out at him!" Isabella's voice knocked her out of her thoughts. "And he told me I could never love Ferb, only Phineas. And, and…" Isabella took a big breath. "I slept with him."

Gretchen let out a little gasp. "That's right." Said Isabella, between sobs. "I cheated on Phineas. I corrupted Ferb. I'm the lowlife whore who came between Phineas and Ferb." Isabella let forth a stream of tears.

"Isabella…" Gretchen tried to comfort her, but she didn't know what to say. It was definitely not true, but it was definitely not false.

"It gets worse. Ferb, he was willing to let me go, scot-free, and pretend that night never happened. But, being the bitch I am, I decided I didn't wanna marry Phineas anymore, I just wanted Ferb. He told me I had to sacrifice my happiness for Phineas'." Isabella sobbed heavily. "Now here's the really horrible part."

"Iz, I'm sure…"

"No!" Isabella turned towards Gretchen. "It's horrible! I was going to force him to marry you and make his own sacrifice!" Gretchen gasped again. "I was going to turn my best friend into a pawn for my scheme!" Isabella covered her face with her hands, crying. She lifted her head up. "And he was going to go along with it. He was going to deal with every card I played."

Isabella collapsed onto Gretchen's shoulder crying. "Oh, Isabella, what a weight you've been carrying." Gretchen said, rubbing her back. "Why didn't you tell anybody?"

"Because Ferb didn't want anybody to know!" She said, hysterically. "We just couldn't break Phineas' heart. For some reason, he loves me."

"I'm absolutely sure that Phineas would understand, Isabella. Do you really think Phineas Flynn would want to steal his brother's true love?" Gretchen said.

"But that's just it!" Isabella said. "Ferb doesn't love me! He hates me! He's trying to do whatever it takes to stop me from ruining this wedding!"

"Oh yeah, then why was his cell phone here?" Gretchen asked.

Isabella shifted around uncomfortably. "Well, last night, me, and Ferb, we kind of, after the dinner…"

Gretchen stood up. "Oh, for heaven's sakes, Isabella! That boy is nuts about you! Do you really think Ferb Fletcher would sleep with his brother's fiancé, TWICE, purely out of lust?"

"But…"

"Do you think he would go through with whatever you say if he didn't love you? Or rescue you from an embarrassing bachelorette party if he didn't love you? If he didn't love you, would he have really taken the time to email you everyday for ten years?"

"But, but…" Isabella stammered. "He's never said he loves me. I've told him so many times, and he's never told me."

"Isabella, he's FERB. He isn't really a chatterbox."

"Well, it's kind of an important thing to say!" Isabella snapped angrily. "Phineas told me he loved me! Gretchen, you're crazy. Ferb does not love me. Now, if you would excuse me, I have to get ready for my wedding!"

Isabella began pushing Gretchen out of her room. "But Isabella…" Gretchen said, as the door shut in her face.

Gretchen was not going to let the chief handle this one on her own. Because she was not handling it right. Gretchen was going to fix this. "Ferb Fletcher, I'm coming for you."

* * *

**Like I mentioned, the story is winding down. It's wedding day already! What will Gretchen, and everyone else, end up doing? Like always, I politely ask for your reviews.**

**-Silver**


	27. Ferb's Breakdown

**I'm wicked sorry for a late update guys, especially after getting so many reviews on the last chapter. You ever have one of those weeks where suddenly everyone decides to dump random work on you? Well, that was this week for me. This might be a little shorter than you wanted.**

* * *

Ferb stared at himself in the mirror of the bathroom, as he tightened his bow tie. If he somehow managed to get through this day, he would literally be able to take on anything. All the days had gone by so quickly, and wedding day was here.

He looked no better than he had this morning. Dark circles, pale face, and a total air of depression. He was the walking dead. It wasn't just because he was tired. It was because Ferb knew watching this happen might be the hardest thing he'd ever do.

They were all already in the church. Wedding guests were filling the seats right this minute. A few rooms had been roped off as dressing rooms for the groom, the ushers, the bridesmaids, and… the bride.

Isabella. Ferb could still picture her crying, from this morning. Seeing her as upset as he felt inside. And he could still feel her kiss, and the desperation they had exchanged.

Ferb suddenly felt really weak. He splashed some water on his face. No matter how he felt, he was staying through this whole ceremony. He had to be strong enough.

Ferb opened the bathroom door, and saw a girl standing there, the look on her face clearly expressing that she had been waiting for him. That, and the crossed arms, with a tapping foot.

"There you are, Ferb." Gretchen said.

Ferb faintly smiled at her. She looked really pretty, all dressed in pink.

"I've been looking for you. I tried calling you, multiple times." She said. "Don't you check your phone?"

Ferb realized he hadn't. He stuck his hand in his pocket. Funny, it wasn't there. He checked in the other pocket. Once he realized it wasn't in either, he began scanning for it. Why couldn't he find it? Actually, he couldn't remember where he had left it. He definitely had it at the dinner, and then afterwards… oh no. He must have left it at Isabella's.

"What's wrong, Ferb?" Gretchen tilted her head at him. "Lost something?"

Suddenly she threw something towards him. Ferb quickly reacted, and caught it. His cell phone. Shit.

"Don't worry," Gretchen said deviously. "I found it."

Ferb gulped.

"Ok, Mr. Man-of-few-words, start talking. Because guess where I found this? Isabella's room."

Ferb turned away from Gretchen. What quick lie could he think up to remedy the situation? But Ferb didn't want to keep lying to Gretchen; she was his friend. He didn't want to keep lying to Phineas, or to Isabella, or to himself. He couldn't do this anymore!

"Gretchen, I have to tell you something. But, please, promise me you'll keep it a secret!" Ferb pleaded.

Gretchen was a little surprised. She had come to chew Ferb out, but she would still listen to him.

Ferb squeezed his eyes shut and took a big breath. "My phone was in Isabella's room because last night, she and I made love."

Gretchen was a little shocked that Ferb had just outwardly admitted it to her. Isabella hadn't.

Ferb wrung his hands together. "You're probably shocked; I would've been too if anybody had told me all this would have happened from a little white lie. You see, we all knew that Isabella loved Phineas as a child. She wanted to keep in touch with him after she moved. I tried to remind him to, but Phineas always has his head in the clouds. I felt bad for Isabella; this kind of thing had happened before. So I decided to write her. But, she loved Phineas so much. I knew how happy she would be if Phineas wrote to her. So I fibbed and said I was Phineas."

Gretchen noticed that Ferb was beginning to sound more hysterical with every sentence.

"I didn't think it would hurt anyone! I just wanted to keep in touch with Isabella, make her happy, and not bother Phineas! Before I knew it, I had been pretending to be Phineas for 10 years! Isabella returned and fell right for Phineas. I realized too late that," Ferb hung his head, "I was in love with her."

"Wow." Said Gretchen. "Why haven't you told Isabella?"

"I did. She was very angry, but we ended up sleeping together! I just, we can't be together without hurting Phineas! I'm basically forcing her into this marriage!"

"Ferb, I know all of this."

Ferb stared at her. "What? How?"

"Isabella told me." Gretchen said. "Don't be mad at her! She did the same thing you did, confessing after I confronted her."

Ferb just continued to stare.

"What I was asking was, why haven't you told Isabella you're in love with her?" She said.

"Huh?"

Gretchen groaned. "You idiot! You know you love Isabella. But she doesn't! The poor thing is a mess because she thinks you hate her, while she's madly in love with you!"

"What? Why does she think that?" Ferb exclaimed.

"Ferb, I know you don't usually talk that much, but think back. Have you EVER outwardly told Isabella you love her?"

Ferb paused to think. Had he ever told Isabella he loved her? He had signed some emails with love. He had mentioned sacrificing it. He had whispered it to her door as she fell asleep. But he had never actually told Isabella that he loved her more than anything else in the world!

"Oh god." Ferb slapped his hand to his forehead. "I haven't. I can't believe it! I haven't!" If he let Isabella go without telling her he loved her, it would be the biggest mistake of his life! He had to tell her! He just had to! Before she became Phineas' forever. Right now! "Gretchen, where is she?"

"In her dressing room. But Ferb," Gretchen said. "The wedding is literally about to start!"

"I don't care!" Ferb said, running out of the room. He suddenly stuck his head back in the room. "Gretchen, you can't tell anyone about this. Especially Phineas."

"Wait, Ferb…" She called, but he had already run off. "Only Phineas can fix this." And she quickly and quietly went to find the last face of this mess.

* * *

**Ok guys, so what happens next? I hope it's you typing a review!**


	28. The Truth

Phineas was pretty sure he had never been more dressed up in his life. Everything, from his clothes to his hair, was "perfectly" done (at least, it was according to Candace). She wasn't letting him, or anybody else for that matter, do anything or even leave their assigned dressing rooms, for fear that they would mess themselves up before photo time. But everyone couldn't help feeling that Candace just enjoyed locking her brothers up.

Phineas should've been happy right now. He was getting married to his dream girl. He was minutes away from one of the most important moments of his life. But he wasn't. There was too much… in the way.

He never did find out what was wrong with everybody. It had been one thing after another; parties, dinners, rehearsals. But if it did have something to do with the wedding, well, he was out of time.

Actually, not everyone had been upset. Obviously, Candace was still herself. Mom and Dad, Buford and Baljeet, Gretchen and the girls; they were all fine. The only two people besides Phineas himself that had been acting funny were Isabella and Ferb. Phineas spent more time with them than anyone else, so he knew something was wrong.

Phineas still had the nagging feeling that, in the long run, Ferb should have listened to him. They should've just told Isabella the truth about Ferb emailing her. He was sure Isabella wouldn't have cared. And then maybe Phineas could've just been himself and gotten to know Isabella naturally. He was going to have to go in there and live a relationship founded on a lie. And Isabella was never going to know about this special connection she really had with Ferb.

Phineas sat down on a plush chair in front of the window, put his head in his hand, and sighed. For the first time in his life, Phineas truly wanted to back out of what he was going to do today. He wasn't sure why. He didn't even have a good reason. What could he blame; the fact he was on some kind of new girlfriend high when he proposed to Isabella? No, there was definitely a better reason.

"Phineas, you in there?" He heard Gretchen say from outside the door.

"Yeah, Candace won't let us out, but I'm dressed. You can come in."

Gretchen poked her head in, and then hurried inside, shutting the door behind her.

Phineas smiled at her. "Wow, Gretch, you look adorable. I know Isabella kind of owns the color pink around here, but you should start wearing it. Actually, how did you even get out and about? I figured Candace would be keeping tabs on everyone. Gretchen?" He peered at her. She looked a little troubled. Oh no, he thought, now Gretchen's upset.

"Are you always in a good mood?" She asked weakly.

"No. I mean, I don't think so. I was literally just feeling pretty messed up before you came in. But somehow, all of you just… lift me up." He smiled at her again.

Wow, thought Gretchen. Phineas really could fix everything. She was sure he could. If he only knew. But she couldn't just tell him the entire secret. There would be so much wrong with that! Firstly, she had promised Ferb that she would not tell anyone, specifically the boy in front of her! And secondly, this was not her secret to tell. It barely concerned her, and it belonged to Isabella and Ferb.

"Gretchen? Hellooo?" Phineas waved his hand in front of her face.

Gretchen shook her head. She had been staring into space, thinking. "Sorry!"

Phineas' smile disappeared. "Gretchen, what's wrong?"

"I…I… I can't tell you." She said exhaustedly.

"Huh?" He said.

"Believe me, I'm fighting myself over this one. It's hard to just take orders all the time!" Gretchen said, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's all I ever do. 'Yes, chief! Right away, chief!' I'm not supposed to question the command, I just listen to it. That's what everyone likes about me! That's… all everyone likes about me." Gretchen sank into the chair Phineas had been in.

Phineas rushed over to her. "Gretchen, that is most definitely not all everyone likes about you. We like every single thing about you! What on Earth is wrong with all of us nowadays? It's spreading!"

Gretchen snapped her head up. "You're so right. Isabella and Ferb did this to me." She said grumpily.

"Yes." Phineas said, stunned. "It did start with Isabella and Ferb. Gretchen, what is it that you can't tell me?"

Gretchen suddenly seemed calm. "Phineas, you mentioned something to me about emails earlier."

"Umm, yeah." He seemed nervous again.

"Would you tell me the truth about them? The truth?"

There was just something about Gretchen. Phineas just, he could tell she only had good intentions. And he wanted to at least find out what was wrong with her. "Yeah, okay. Isabella wanted to keep in touch with me everyday through email. I was too lazy to follow through." He rubbed the back of his head guiltily. "I never did. But Ferb, he did. Everyday. For ten years."

"Isabella and Ferb kept in contact with each other for ten years." She said it as a statement, as if she already knew. Phineas nodded. Gretchen continued, "I know, if I did that with someone for so long, soon I would really really care about that person. I might even love them." Phineas nodded again, slower. "Phineas, did you ever wonder if, maybe, Ferb and Isabella gained feelings for each other over time? If they could have maybe, fallen… in… love?"

Phineas' mouth dropped open. "They could be in lov…"

Gretchen cut him off. "But that's silly. Why would Isabella be marrying you then? Unless, somehow, she didn't know how she felt about Ferb. Until it was too late. And obviously, Isabella and Ferb would love you too much to break your heart. So they would keep it secret. Even though it's killing both of them inside." Gretchen took a deep breath. "All of this being hypothetical, of course." She turned to Phineas, who looked petrified.

"Hypothetical." He repeated. Isabella and Ferb? "Gretchen, is it possible that you are trying to tell me that all this time, Isabella and Ferb were in love?"

Gretchen grimaced as she looked at Phineas' stunned face. "It shouldn't have been me. I shouldn't have told you." She whispered.

"Oh my god, it's true!"

"Oh no." Gretchen pulled at her hair. "I'm so stupid! And I promised Ferb!"

"Gretchen, where are they?"

"Don't be mad at them, Phineas! You're everything to them." Gretchen pleaded.

"I'm not mad." Phineas said. "I…I don't know what I am right now. But I have to talk to Ferb! And Isabella! Where are they?"

"I think she's still in her dressing room." Gretchen said timidly.

"Got it." Phineas was about to leave when Gretchen grabbed his hand.

"Promise me you'll fix everything." She said meekly.

"I promise."

* * *

**Are you going to be able to handle more drama? The finale starts next chapter! As always, please review!**


	29. Finale Part One

**Whoo-hoo! The finale starts now! Get all those reviews in, because there is only one chapter after this!**

* * *

He was literally running through the church. Racing against time, for in a short amount of it, he was going to lose everything. Ferb looked around desperately. There were so many rooms down the building's winding hallways. Where could Isabella be?

"Isabella!" Ferb cried out. He slapped his hand over his mouth almost as soon as the name left it. What was he thinking? If anyone found out what he was doing, there'd be hell to pay. Unfortunately, his voice was still reverberating off the walls. Well, it didn't matter; he still had to find Isabella. Instead of running, he walked slowly, gently checking each door, but all the rooms were empty. Either nobody had been in them, or they were all ready like Gretchen had been.

Suddenly, Ferb heard a noise behind him. He turned instantly, but all he saw was an empty hallway. Ferb peered down it. It had sounded like… a squeaking shoe. Was somebody following him? He was reluctant to keep going, but he saw a light shining from the cracks of the next door. He probably heard nothing.

Ferb rushed up to the door, and burst through. "Isabella!"

Isabella, shocked, flipped around to see a panting, crazed Ferb. "Ferb, whatcha'… I mean, what are you doing?" She gasped.

She was wearing his wedding gown, and she had never looked more gorgeous. Isabella and the gown just fit together perfectly. With her hair so shiny and perfect, and delicately done makeup, she looked just like an angel. An angel with a slightly quivering lower lip.

Ferb, still panting slightly, just walked up to her. Ferb gently ran his hand along her cheek. Isabella tightly closed her eyes; whether it was because she enjoyed it or because she was trying to ignore it, he didn't know. "You look beautiful, Isabella."

She pushed his hand away from her. "Thank you." He could tell by her voice that she was seconds away from crying. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to go get married."

"WAIT!" Ferb grabbed both of Isabella's hands. "I have to tell you something."

"What, Ferb? What more could you possibly have to tell me?" She choked out.

"I love you."

"WHAT?" Isabella gasped.

"I know I don't talk a lot. Truthfully, I don't talk enough. Because the mere fact that it took me this long to tell you that is upsetting. I should have told you the day you stepped back into the Tri-State Area. I should have told you before we were even twenty-one." Ferb was speaking with an urgency like she had never heard before. "There is no girl on Earth I have ever felt more connected to, and there never will be. Isabella, I'd do anything for you. Forget marrying Gretchen, I'd jump off a cliff if you asked me to. Whether it's rescuing you from a bar or a beast, I'd do it. I hate that I'm making you do this. Every time I see you with my brother, every time I make you cry, I die a little more inside. If it was anybody besides Phineas," Ferb gritted his teeth, "he'd be dead by now. I just had to let you know… I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you!"

Isabella felt as though her knees were going to give out. She was shaking. "I thought… you never said…"

"How many more times do you want me to say it?" He asked, taking her in his arms. He gently kissed her cheek. "I love you." He moved to place a light kiss on her neck, causing her to lightly moan. "I love you." He pressed his lips against hers. "I love you." He said, staring right into her eyes.

"Goddammit, Ferb, stop it! You're pushing me to a breaking point, and I'm a lot weaker than you!" She cried, still in his arms.

"I love you, Isabella."

Isabella's mouth crashed onto Ferb's. Her arms surrounded his head, pushing it into hers, as he pulled Isabella nearer. They were about as close as two people could be. And once again, they were kissing each other with such fierceness, because the desperation would be there until Isabella and Ferb were allowed to be together. It was at this point that their only audience member knew he had to turn away.

**X**

Most people didn't have to do this kind of thing, thought Phineas. Journey their way through a confusing cathedral looking for their bride-to-be who is actually in love with their brother.

Phineas still didn't know how he felt about it all. Initially, he had been trying to remain calm to keep Gretchen from freaking out anymore than she had been, but now, even after she was gone, he still felt sane. Phineas had never been an overly emotional person, but shouldn't he feel very upset about this discovery? But it fell right in with the questions he had been having about his feelings for Isabella. All Phineas knew was that he needed Isabella herself to tell him her story. Or Ferb.

At that very moment, Phineas saw his brother. Phineas ducked behind a column so that Ferb wouldn't see him. Ferb looked like a madman, darting around frantically.

"Isabella!" he cried out. He instantly covered his mouth.

Isabella, Isabella, Isabella echoed around the hall. Phineas stared back towards Ferb. He was looking for Isabella too. He had never heard Ferb sound so desperate, and kind of crazy. So it was all true. Ferb and Isabella.

Phineas couldn't help wishing he felt SOMETHING. Was he really just an emotionless idea machine? He didn't feel jealous, or betrayed, he actually felt… curious. The same kind of curiosity that would lead him to butt into people's lives, with the latest example being hooking up Ferb and Gretchen. After all, the biggest reason why he wanted to find Isabella was to hear more of the story. And now he was really just curious to see what Ferb was doing. So Phineas decided to follow him.

He gently tiptoed behind his green-haired brother, as they moved from door to door. Suddenly, while not paying attention, Phineas' shoe squeaked loudly. He rushed into the shadows as fast as he could as Ferb whipped around. Don't see me, Phineas prayed. Thankfully, Ferb ignored the noise as he came to Isabella's dressing room.

Phineas heard the door open, and their voices. He snuck around towards the doorway, that they had left slightly open.

"Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to go get married." Phineas had never heard Isabella sound so broken.

"WAIT! I have to tell you something."

"What, Ferb? What more could you possibly have to tell me?"

"I love you."

Isabella gasped, Ferb continued to speak, but Phineas was still stuck on those three little words. Phineas had never heard Ferb say that to a girl before. In fact, he had never heard him say that at all. The entire Flynn-Fletcher family knew Ferb loved them, but he didn't really say it. It was already rare for a guy to talk about love; it was even rarer when the guy was Ferb.

Maybe he should feel hurt, or jealous, or whatever one was supposed to feel in a situation like this, but Phineas was kind of happy for Ferb. Ferb was in love. It was a great feeling, according to everyone. Phineas wasn't sure if he counted in that group anymore.

"I hate that I'm making you do this. Every time I see you with my brother, every time I make you cry, I die a little more inside. If it was anybody besides Phineas… he'd be dead by now."

Maybe hearing his name was what jolted Phineas back to the conversation he was eavesdropping on. He shivered a little. The way Ferb sounded was so… well, scary. If I was anyone else, he thought, who knows what Ferb would've done to me? But then Phineas thought maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Because then Ferb could be with Isabella.

It was then when Phineas realized he had just killed himself out of his own story. And why? Because he was the villain.

He was the villain. Maybe not an evil psychopath, but most definitely the antagonist. He had stolen Isabella from Ferb, and now they were keeping themselves apart because of him.

Phineas noticed it was nearly silent now, except for muffled moaning noises. He peeked in the room to see Isabella and Ferb, joined at the lips and entwined around each other. Just one glimpse and he knew they belonged together. He had never seen such pure passion. But looking at his brother and his fiancé smooching like this did make him feel very uncomfortable.

Phineas turned away, and leaned his back against the wall. Oh man. He felt really bad. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be the guilty one; besides lying about the emails, he hadn't done anything bad. Like cheat on his fiancé. But he couldn't help feeling like he was a huge part of his friends' unhappiness. All because, once again, he hadn't paid enough attention. Why was he so oblivious? Gretchen had realized it after a few days, and here he had been, not knowing his brother had loved Isabella for years. Ferb sure was willing to sacrifice a lot for Phineas. And now it was time for Phineas to sacrifice a lot for Ferb. He knew exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

**Anyone willing to place any final bets? For the record, you readers are awesome. Thanks for making this, like, the most reviewed Ferbella story, and one of the overall most reviewed stories. I'm definitely going to give some shout-outs at the end. Again, please review and part two will be up soon.**

**Love, Silver**


	30. Finale Part Two

**Firstly, sorry this took so long. Secondly, I demand that you all look at the amazing cover ****_WeirdHeart_**** made for me! Isn't it awesome? And thirdly, OMG it's finally complete! I'm sad but happy too. I have to give some special thanks to some reviewers.****_ MDJohnWatson_**** (for giving me my first ever review), ****_BettynoVeronica_****, ****_HarperFan_****, ****_Luther West Jr_****., and the other ever elusive Guests (because I too was once a dedicated anonymous reviewer), ****_TheCartoonFanatic01_**** (for reviewing every single chapter),****_ DizzyPirate_**** (for reading this despite being Ferbnessa), ****_veebeejustte_****, ****_Ksonic_****, ****_lotorq_****, ****_Sabrina06_****, and ****_PianoMan5_**** (for steady, great reviews), ****_bilaterus_**** (for awesome compliments and critiques), ****_Ryan Stoppable_****, (for riding the rollercoaster all the way till the end), ****_BlytheHasFreckles_**** (because she's awesome and I made her love Ferbella a little), ****_Thesmartone1997_**** (who I think fell in love with Ferb along the way), ****_WeirdHeart_**** (a total Ferbella and rockin' artist who made my cover), and everybody else who ever read this ever. I feel like this is an award speech and I'm forgetting people! Ready, here it comes...**

* * *

"Oh, this is so exciting!" cooed Linda, as she sat down with Lawrence. "My littlest baby is getting married."

The church was full of people, all neatly prepared to watch the wedding of a lifetime. Of course, it was busy behind the scenes as well. The former Fireside girls were lined up in their dresses, waiting to walk down the aisle, along with Phineas' groomsmen. Amanda was all ready to be the star of the show as the only flower girl.

"All right, everyone!" said Candace, as she clapped her hands together. "This is it. The real deal. No more rehearsals, and no room for mess ups!"

"Candace, this isn't a play." Said Buford.

"Zip it, Buford. I've worked tirelessly on this wedding for days now, and you all WILL get it perfect. Phineas' wedding will be absolutely perfect! Speaking of which, where's Phineas?"

"Actually, Candace, he's not the only one missing. I'm not sure where Ferb, Gretchen, and Isabella are either." Said Ginger.

"What?" gasped Candace. "PHINEAS AND FERB!" she bellowed.

**X**

Ferb quickly opened his eyes at the sound of his name. He was sitting on a plush covered bench in Isabella's dressing room, Isabella right beside him. Their arms were wrapped around each other and her head was buried in his chest. He had just been sitting there, holding her. Now, he began unwinding his arms from their embrace.

"I… I have to go." He said, getting up.

"NO!" Isabella suddenly cried loudly, scaring him a little. She was still sitting, but clinging to his arm. "Don't leave me! Please!"

"I have to Isabella." He said sadly. "Remember…" He bent down and grasped her shoulders, staring into her eyes. "I love you." He touched his lips to hers once more but pulled away before they got caught up in yet another kiss. And then he walked out of the room.

"Ferb." The word left her mouth as though it was taking her breath with it.

Isabella began crying. Not sweet, poetic, gentle, ladylike weeping. No, Isabella was crying; loudly bawling with a steady stream of tears. The door to the room opened and she scrambled to hide her tears, but she continued to sob once she realized it was Gretchen.

"Isabella! What's wrong?" Gretchen gasped, rushing to help her friend.

"He… he… Fer…" Isabella couldn't speak between her sobs. She slid off the bench and to the ground.

"Izzy, stop, stop! You're hyperventilating! Breathe!"

Isabella stopped to take some deep breaths, but she was still shaking and crying.

Gretchen sat down on the bench and took Isabella's hand. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

"I was wrong!" Isabella cried. "I was wrong, and you were right, as usual! Ferb loves me! He really does love me! I can't do it, Gretch, I can't do it! I can't go up to the altar and stand there, knowing he's only feet away from me! I can't spend my whole life thinking about Ferb, Gretchen! It's killing me! I mean, look at me!" She gestured to herself. "I'm lying on the floor in a wedding dress!"

"But Phineas was supposed to…" Gretchen muttered to herself.

"What?" said Isabella.

"Nothing." Gretchen said quickly. "Izzy, I just, I don't know what to tell you! You can't just sit here! I don't know why you're even doing this! I wouldn't be."

Isabella sniffed. "I'm doing this," she said quietly, more to herself than anyone else. "… because I'm doing what Ferb said." She got up and began wiping her eyes.

"What! That's not a good reason." Gretchen said.

"You're wrong." Isabella said, as she looked herself over in the mirror, and fixed her makeup. "It is. Because he loves me. He loves me. He must have put a lot of thought into this, and maybe in the long run, we'll all be happy. And I love Ferb. So I am going to listen."

Isabella left the room, with Gretchen tailing her. She stopped when she saw the line of people who were going to walk down the aisle. "Gretchen, I think I'm going to throw up."

"You don't have to do this Isabella." Gretchen said. The only thing running through her brain was Phineas. He wasn't going to let this happen, was he?

**X**

Ferb had left Isabella to find a furious Candace.

"There you are, Ferb. Don't you know we're going to start in a few minutes? And where is Phineas?" She yelled.

Ferb just shrugged.

"Candace, I found Gretchen and sent her to Isabella's dressing room to find Isabella." Said Ginger.

"Thank you." Candace sounded relieved.

"And there's Phineas." Said Adyson.

"Sorry!" Phineas was running up to them. "Sorry, Candace, I had to do something important." His eyes flicked to Ferb.

"Sorry? That's all you have to say? I want everyone ready NOW!" People began running to their places.

"Come on, I have to use the side door to get upfront with the priest." Phineas said, beckoning Ferb, who followed.

Phineas seemed awfully twitchy and excited. "For the record Ferb, I might do something drastic tonight."

The last time Phineas said those words, Ferb's nightmare began. But he couldn't bring his brother down. "Phineas, today you can do whatever makes you happy."

"Ferb, you're the greatest brother in the world." And for the first time in years, after so many missed opportunities, the brothers hugged each other.

"Well, it's wedding time." Phineas said, as he stepped through the side door. Ferb rushed back to the group, where they were all being lined up. Then, the wedding march began playing.

Ferb watched as little Amanda skipped down, dropping her flower petals. He watched his best friends Buford and Baljeet go down the aisle with Adyson and Ginger. As the rest continued, he turned towards Gretchen. She was nibbling at her nails, and looking extremely worried. He just stuck out his arm to her, and she took it. It was time for the best man and maid of honor to walk out. It was their turn.

"Ferb," Gretchen whispered, as they walked. "I have to tell you something. I told Phineas…" But she stopped speaking when they reached the end of their walk. Ferb went over to Phineas' side. What was Gretchen talking about?

Gretchen felt sick to her stomach. This wasn't right! Isabella loved Ferb, Ferb loved Isabella! They needed a happy ending. How could Phineas come in the middle of that? He promised he would fix the mess, the way only Phineas Flynn could. Gretchen peered at Phineas, and to her surprise, he winked at her! Could that mean…

The wedding march got louder. Here comes the bride, thought Ferb. He just watched her walk. Maybe she wasn't his, but she was the most beautiful bride. And he'd love her forever.

Isabella bit at her lip, and stopped next to Phineas. Here we go, she thought.

The priest began speaking. "We are gathered here today to join this man-"

"Umm," Phineas said, raising one finger. "I hate to be rude but, I'm going to have to stop you there."

Everybody in the building was shocked. They were all just staring wide-eyed at Phineas.

"See, I'm pretty sure you were going to say this man and this woman will be joined in holy matrimony, et cetera, et cetera. And umm, that's not accurately what we're going to be watching."

"PHINEAS." Candace quietly growled.

"Phineas," Isabella whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Guys, it's ok." Phineas said quietly, looking back and forth between Ferb and Isabella. "I know. About you two."

"What!" Isabella gasped. Ferb looked quite stunned as well. "How?"

"Let's just say, a little birdie told me." Gretchen shrunk down behind the other bridesmaids.

Phineas was smiling. "I can't believe you guys. Isabella, I was never forcing you to do anything. You were always my friend, and you're always going to be my friend. And you," Phineas turned and gently whacked Ferb on the shoulder. "You idiot! You were going to give up your gorgeous true love just to make me happy? I thought you were the smart one!"

"Phineas…" Ferb began.

"Guys, seriously, I'm ok. No, I'm better than ok. I'm probably the luckiest guy in the world! Not only do I have a room full of people who love me, I have the world's sweetest childhood friend, and the world's greatest brother, who were willing to give up true love for me!" Phineas stepped back and pushed Ferb towards Isabella. "So, ladies and gentlemen, we're gathered here today to join this man," He pointed at Ferb, "And this woman," he pointed at Isabella. "In holy matrimony."

"What!" Everybody said at once.

Gretchen sprang forward, in front of the very confused crowd to tell them the whole story. Meanwhile, Isabella and Ferb turned towards Phineas.

"Phineas, I don't think we can…" Ferb began.

"Oh come on." Phineas said. "We're all dressed, we're in a church, everybody we know is here, Isabella is in your dang custom dress, you're in love, what excuse do you have?"

Ferb began to smile slowly. "Would you like to marry me?" He shyly asked Isabella.

"Oh no," Phineas covered her mouth with his hand. "You have to properly propose to her. She's been waiting ten years for this!"

Ferb rolled his eyes, but got down on one knee smiling. "Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, oh heavenly light of my life, my closest confidant, my one and only queen, will you marry me?"

"YES!" She squealed. "Yes Ferb, yes yes yes!"

The guests, now caught up, began clapping and cheering. "Wow, I can't believe it." Said Adyson. "Isabella loves Ferb?"

"Oh come on." Said Phineas. "It was kind of obvious in the long run. I mean, don't you remember when she was constantly coming over and asking him what he was doing?" A loud smacking noise echoed around the room as everybody couldn't help but facepalm.

"Phineas," Gretchen quietly said to him. "You did it. You saved the day."

"Every day is precious." He said, smiling at her. "Now who else wants to see a wedding?" He shouted happily.

So the minister finally finished speaking without interruptions, and Isabella and Ferb shared the first of many more passionate kisses. They were no longer just pen pals, friends, lovers, or opponents. They were partners.

* * *

**The End. Yup, I couldn't help but go for a perfectly cheesy happy ending. That's just how I roll. Hope you enjoyed it.**

**LOVE, Silver**


End file.
